ISS/global warming B.S. push NASA into poverty and Russian's hands

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Experts are growing increasingly concerned
that the United States will have to rely entirely upon Russia to take
astronauts to and from the international space station for at least
half a decade.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson endured a chaotic Soyuz capsule landing
in April.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson endured a chaotic Soyuz capsule landing
in April.
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Observers say the situation is all the more worrying as earlier in the
week, NASA announced a delay in the launch of its next-generation
Orion spacecraft.

NASA's dependency upon the Russian Soyuz space capsules and rockets to
carry astronauts to the station is the result of a five-year gap
between the scheduled retirement of the shuttle in 2010 and the debut
of its replacement in 2015.

The agency had hoped it could narrow this gap by accelerating the
initial launch of the craft to 2013 but announced on Monday that
because of inadequate funding and technical issues the new
Constellation space program would not be ready for testing until
September 2014.

While the new date is still within the March 2015 absolute deadline,
many experts say NASA's reliance upon Russia to take astronauts into
space has placed the agency in an unnecessary position.

"It is a vulnerability," John Logsdon, director of the space policy
institute at George Washington University, told CNN.

"Any time you are relying on a single system to do a critical task,
you are vulnerable if that system has problems."

"It is our fault for not having a replacement for the shuttle much
earlier than Orion will be available. It puts Russia in a very
powerful position," Logsdon said.

Russia will be the only country capable of providing human access to
space not only for the Americans but also the rest of the world in the
near future, said Howard McCurdy, a space expert at American
University in Washington.

"It is like a monopoly position where you are at the mercy of that
supplier," said McCurdy. "You don't want to be dependent on a single
provider no matter who it is."

McCurdy warned that because the United States has positioned itself to
be completely dependent on Russia to get humans into space until 2015,
it may be harder for the American government to take diplomatic action
against the country, especially in light of recent tensions between
Russia and Georgia.

"That is a real concern," said McCurdy. "You are much more reluctant
to be nasty with somebody who is a sole provider of an essential
service.

"We have other international arrangements with them that could be
jeopardized by our reliance on them," McCurdy continued. "Everything
from their foreign relations with ex-Soviet states to their role in
economic summits." Does NASA's dependence on Russia bode badly for
U.S. space program?

For its part, NASA says it remains confident that diplomatic affairs
between the two countries will not adversely impact the space agency's
relationship with Russia.

"While it is possible that government to government issues could
potentially have an impact on other aspects of a relationship between
nations including cooperative space exploration activities, NASA has
no reason to believe that it will be unable to rely upon Roscosmos-
provided Soyuz vehicles for future ISS activities," spokesman Michael
Curie wrote in an email statement to CNN.

The threat of a breakdown in diplomatic relations is not the only one
hanging over NASA's space program.

Legislation passed in 2000 (now called the Iran, North Korea and Syria
Nonproliferation Act) could soon bring an abrupt halt to NASA's
partnership with the Russian Space Federation, Democratic Senator Bill
Nelson of Florida told CNN.

The law bans the United States from buying space technology from
Russia unless the president determines Russia is taking steps to
prevent the proliferation of nuclear and missile technology to Iran.

Congress waived the ban in 2005, allowing NASA to enter into a $719
million contract with the Russians for use of the Soyuz through 2011.

NASA says it is currently renegotiating a new long-term contract for
use of the Soyuz but, according to Nelson, the success of that
contract could depend on whether or not lawmakers decide to approve
the waiver again.

Election-year politics combined with increasing concerns about Iran
and the ongoing crisis in Georgia all but guarantee that lawmakers
will not vote for the exemption, said Nelson.
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That means NASA could lose access to the $100 billion space station
unless it continues to fly the shuttle or strikes some sort of deal
with another space agency willing to put forward money for additional
Soyuz seats, the Senator explained to CNN.

"It is a lose-lose situation," said Nelson.

"If our relationship with Russia is strained who knows if Russia will
give us rides in the future?" Nelson continued. "Or if they give us
rides will they charge such an exorbitant price that it becomes
blackmail?"

Questions about the safety and reliability of the Soyuz have also been
raised in recent months after two consecutive troublesome landings by
space capsules, including one in April with American astronaut Peggy
Whitson on board.

NASA has been working with Russian engineers to try to determine the
cause of the dangerous descents but has so far failed come up with any
concrete answers.

But NASA officials say the space agency still believes the Soyuz is a
reliable transport system for its astronauts.

"We do not have concerns," NASA spokesman Rob Navias told CNN. "The
Soyuz, which has been flying for decades now, is extremely reliable
and is extremely capable."

"We have been partnering with the Russians for decades now for space
flights."

The Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, could not be reached for
comment on the matter.