|
|
|
| Sunday, 2 October 2005 |
 |
|
 |
World |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Russia-US crew blast off into space BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A Russia-U.S. two-man crew and the world's third space tourist blasted off from Earth on Saturday, bound for the orbiting International Space Station. The cigar-shaped Soyuz rocket lifted off into a clear blue sky at 0354 GMT from the Baikonur space centre on a piece of Kazakh steppe that Russia rents from its ex-Soviet neighbour. It is scheduled to dock with the station in two days. On board the Russian spacecraft were U.S. Commander William McArthur, Russian Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev, and American entrepreneur Gregory Olsen, who is due to spend about a week in orbit, while the crew face a daunting 6-month stint. "The crew are feeling well. The flight is going according to plan," Russian space authorities said in a statement broadcast at the mission control centre outside Moscow. At the moment Russia bears the responsibility for ferrying people and supplies to the $100-billion station after NASA grounded its shuttle fleet in July, having failed to fix a technical problem that killed seven astronauts in 2003. Although the Soyuz launch went according to plan, one small hitch remains. McArthur, in theory, has only a one-way ticket. Roskosmos, Russia's space agency, meets its obligations to fly NASA astronauts at the end of this year and with the shuttle potentially out of action, the United States needs to cut a deal with Moscow to allow him to fly home on the Soyuz. The snag is that trade sanctions linked to U.S. fears that Russian technology and know-how could help Iran develop nuclear weapons mean NASA cannot pay Roskosmos. U.S. lawmakers are considering lifting the ban. Nobody expects McArthur to spin round space forever. Meanwhile, Olsen, rich even to afford a reported $20 million ticket, will spend his time in space conducting experiments before hitching a ride back to Earth with the outgoing U.S.-Russian crew. The two who stay behind will be busy keeping the station ticking over, but they should also do two or three space walks, according to NASA's website. But the shuttle is only thing big enough to ship the parts needed to finish the station |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
