Russian Deputy Prime Minister Warns U.S. Could Use Trampoline To Access ISS.
NBC Nightly News (4/29, story 6, 0:30, Williams)
broadcast that with more U.S. sanctions against Russia for its actions in
Ukraine, Russia’s deputy prime minister said that the U.S. could “use a
trampoline” if it wanted to get its astronauts to the ISS. According to the
broadcast, this is a “dicey” situation because of the U.S. reliance on Russia
for transport.
The Washington
Post (4/29, Birnbaum) briefly noted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry
Rogozin’s comments in an article primarily about how the sanctions do not seem
to be working as Russian as officials say the U.S. and Europe are causing more
damage to themselves.
Reuters
(4/29, Baczynska) reported that despite the statement, analysts believe that
Russia will not halt launches because it is extremely reliant on the millions
the U.S. spends per launch. Sergei Oznobishchev, director at the Institute for
Strategic Assessments, believes that Russia will lose out in the end because
Russia also needs the West’s high-tech electronic components and is not prepared
at this time to produce them.
WDRB-TV
Louisville, KY (4/29) reported that Rogozin’s statement comes about a month
after astronaut Reid Wiseman and cosmonaut Max Suraev said at a press conference
that the astronauts still had good relations. The pair, along with German
astronaut Alexander Gerst, are scheduled to launch to the ISS next month “if all
goes well.”
Deutsche
Welle (DEU) (4/30), not mentioning Rogozin’s comments, detailed how reliant
both the U.S. and Europe are on Russia for launches.
Also covering the story are the Bloomberg
News (4/29, Silva) “Political Capital” blog, AFP
(4/29), Voice
of Russia (4/30), Moscow
Times (4/29, Bodner), NBC
News (4/29, Boyle) website, and other media sources.
Defense
Authorization Markup Requires Development Of RD-180 Alternative Engine.
The
Hill (4/29, Wong) reported that in the markup of the 2015 National Defense
Authorization Act, the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee calls
on the government to work on developing an alternate engine for U.S. rockets
over the next five years so that there is no more reliance on Russia. According
to the legislation, “any company certified to launch a national security
payload” would be able to bid on the contract.
Space
News (4/29, Gruss, Subscription Publication) noted that in the bill, the
Department of Defense would need to coordinate with NASA to make sure both
agencies can use the alternate to the RD-180 engine.
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