NASA Uneasy Over Russian Space Troubles
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Two consecutive chaotic and dangerous landings by Soyuz space capsules, including one with an American astronaut aboard, have NASA and space experts concerned about the spacecraft’s reliability in ferrying astronauts to and from the international space station. The worries are compounded by the fact that starting in 2010, when the space shuttle fleet will be retired, America will be entirely dependent on Russia’s Soyuz capsules for transporting all astronauts to the station. The Soyuz has been a remarkably safe and reliable spacecraft for four decades, and the recent failures do not appear to have anything to do with new technology or new procedures.
