" The legislation in question is the Iran Nonproliferation Act (INA), which
came into force in 2000. The orbiting tin can is the International Space
Station (ISS), an American-led (and largely American financed) project which
also involves Japan, Canada, Brazil, the EU and, most notably, Russia. To
keep people on it requires regular servicing trips. In practice, that means
visits from America's space shuttles (grounded at the moment) and Russia's
Soyuz spacecraft. But after April next year, an agreement that committed
Russia to supply the space-station programme with flights on Soyuz will
expire. From then on, America's space agency, NASA, will not be able to pay
for any more Soyuz flights because of the INA. "
=== snip ========
" In the absence of the shuttle, visits to the station require two Soyuz
vehicles: one docked as an emergency escape pod and one to transport
astronauts to and from the station, an arrangement that NASA would not be
allowed to benefit from after April 2006. But even if shuttles return to
service this year, as is planned, they can only remain docked to the station
for a few weeks at a time, which puts a limit on the span of any American
stay there. "
=======================
"Martin 53N 1W" <ml_news@ddnospamddml1dd.co.uk.dd> wrote in message
news:7LKZd.22980$3A6.13708@newsfe1-gui.ntli.net...

ytrewq wrote:
[...]

Congress passed law that says no russia unless certified that russia not
helping neuc wannabe's.
Russia cannot be certified.
What a mess.......
http://economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3738886
 HERE'S a wizard idea. Spend $40 billion building a big tin can in orbit
round the Earth, in order-at least in part-to keep the rocket scientists

of

your former enemy from going to work for your current enemies. Then find
that a law intended to stop the current enemies getting their hands on

such

rocket scientists' knowledge means you can no longer use this expensive

tin

can. Confused? You are not the only one. Because that, in a nutshell, is

Politics aside, a more telling comment is:

"The question is just what NASA is for. Sherwood Boehlert, the chairman
of the House science committee, has cautioned it against becoming a
single-mission agency by viewing everything through a lens of manned
exploration and putting science second."


The ISS and SST are taking a frightening amount of NASA's funding.
Science and the new technology to support new science are very much in
the shadows for funds...

Regards,
Martin

-- 
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