KOSEN 한인과학기술자네트워크

Congress continues to debate NASA's program to build a permanently occupied space station in earth orbit where astronauts will live and conduct research. NASA expects that research performed in the near-zero gravity environment of the space station will result in new discoveries in life sciences, biomedicine, and materials sciences. The program is currently called the International Space Station(ISS). Controversial since the program began in 1984, the space station has been repeatedly redesigned and rescheduled. Congress appropriated about $23 billion for the program from FY1985-1999. For FY2000, NASA requsted $2.483billion; Congress approved $2.33 billion. Canada, Japan, and several European countries became partners in 1988; Russia joined in 1993. Brazil also is participating, but not as a partner. Except for money the United States is pating Russia, there is no exchange of funds among the partners. Europe, Canada, and Japan collectively expect to spend $9 billion of their own money. President Clinton's 1993 decision to bring Russia into the program was a dramatic change. Russia is now operating its 7th space station, Mir. Under the 1993 agreement, Phase I of U.S./Russian space station cooperation involved flights of Russians on the U.S. space shuttle and Americans on Mir. Phases II and III will see the construction of ISS as a multinational facility. The space station is being assembled in Earth orbit. Forty-six launches are needed to take the various segments into orbit. The first two took place at the end of 1998, a 1-year delay from the original schadule. NASA expects completion of assembly sometime in 2004-2005. NASA originally said it would operate the station for 10 years-from 2002 to 2012, but later said it would guarantee operations only until June 2012, regardless of when assembly is completed. In 1993, NASA said the space station would cost %17.4 billion and would be built for no more than $2.1 billion per year. Both figures became known as "caps", though they were not set in law. The estimate did not include launch costs, costs for a special space shuttle fuel tank, costs prior to FY1994, $400 million in payments to Russia, or operational costs. NASA exceeded the $2.1 billion cap in FY1998, and says the $17.4 billion estimate has grown to $23.4-$26 billion. GAO's lifecycle cost estimate is $95.6 billion. NASA estimates the space station workforce at 12,263 for FY1999(civil service and contractor direct emplyoees). Congress has supported the space station, but concerns exist. Questions include why a space station is needed, why it is needed now, what scientific research can be conducted, how much it will cost, the degree to which it is dependent on Russia participation, and whether Russia can fulfill those commitments. Twenty-one attempts to terminate the space station in NASA funding bills have been defeated (2 in the 106th Congress, 4 in the 105th Congress, 5 in the 104th, 5 in the 103rd, and 5 in the 102nd). Three other attempts in broader legislation in the 103rd Congress also failed