Star-Crossed Orbits: Inside The U.S.-Russian Space Alliance

by James Oberg

Overview

An insider's view into the U.S.-Russian space program

In Star-Crossed Orbits, space veteran and bestselling author James Oberg combines riveting personal memoir with top-notch investigative journalism to tell the complete untold story of the U.S.-Russian space alliance. With unparalleled access to official Russian archives, facilities, and key individuals associated with the Russian space program, he describes the strengths and weaknesses that each side of the alliance brings to the table. And he reveals for the first time the full story of Russia's decaying space program and how it ultimately was saved from collapse by Western funds.

Praise for Star Crossed Orbits:

"A unique background and base of experience underlies this remarkable book by Jim Oberg. It is must reading for anyone who wishes to understand the culture with which one must deal when attempting to cooperate with Russia or counter its initiatives, whether peaceful or otherwise. Times change with the clock."
--­­Dr. H.H. 'Jack' Schmitt, Apollo moon walker, US Senator

"Jim Oberg's new book is an absolute must read for those who have followed the first decades of the human exploration of space. He reveals all sorts of insider information on all sides of the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, later Russia, as they attempted to forge a successful partnership in space. . . Don't miss this one!"­­
--­­Admiral Richard Truly, Space Shuttle Astronaut and former NASA Administrator

"[Star-Crossed Orbits] is a great piece of investigative journalism. [Its] detailed, comprehensive and well documented description of the political environment that shaped the International Space Station is a service to NASA and the nation. . . [This] book is a must read for program managers, engineers and scientists engaged in present and future projects with Russia."
--­­­­Gene Kranz, Apollo Flight Director, author of 'Failure is Not An Option'

"Finally, someone is telling it like it is about the Russian manned space program­­the good, the bad and the ugly. The Russians pulled the wool over our eyes for decades. It continues even today, only now America is paying for it. I have relied on Jim for years because no one knows it or tells it like he does."­­
--­­Walter Cunningham, Apollo VII Astronaut (first manned Apollo mission)

"In this reasoned indictment, James Oberg reveals the self-delusional and cynically deceptive deals in which the US allowed Russia to be a controlling partner in constructing the International Space station. He details the terrible cost in time, national treasure and integrity that this caused­­and how, despite these self-inflicted barriers, America's much-maligned space workers successfully built it anyway."
--­­­­Frederick C. Durant III, Former Assistant Director, National Air and Space Museum

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071418119
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	11/07/2001
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	552 KB

About the Author

James Oberg was a space engineer for 22 years in NASA's mission control in Houston. He has been the space consultant for ABC News, United Press International, and several foreign networks. Oberg is widely recognized as a world authority on the Russian space program, and he has been invited on several occasions to testify before Congress on the problems facing the Russian space industry. He is the author of 10 books, including the classic, Red Star in Orbit, and about a thousand magazine and newspaper articles on all aspects of space flight.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction	1
Chapter 1	Zenith	17
Chapter 2	History	33
Chapter 3	Decaying Orbit	51
Chapter 4	International Orbits	65
Chapter 5	Origins of the Partnership	83
Chapter 6	Mir Breakdowns	97
Chapter 7	Mir Screw-Ups	115
Chapter 8	The Mir Safety Debate	133
Chapter 9	Rescue and Recovery	149
Chapter 10	Lessons Learned and Unlearned	165
Chapter 11	Soyuz Secrets	185
Chapter 12	ISS in the Wilderness	199
Chapter 13	Culture Gap	215
Chapter 14	Staking Out the Orbit	231
Chapter 15	Follow the Money	249
Chapter 16	ISS Opens	261
Chapter 17	Last Days of Mir	277
Chapter 18	Day-by-Day in Orbit	295
Chapter 19	Future Orbits	309
	Notes	329
	Name Index	345
	Subject Index	351

What People are Saying About This

Gene Kranz

"This detailed, comprehensive and well documented description of the political environment that shaped the International Space Station is a service to NASA and the nation. It is a great piece of investigative journalism, written with depth and credibility¾and a must read¾for program managers, engineers and scientists engaged in present and future projects with Russia."
--Gene Kranz, Former Director of Mission Operations, NASA, and author of Failure Is Not an Option

Editorial Reviews

Inaccurate perceptions over the efficacy of the Russian space program long fueled the U.S.-Russian space race and are now driving current cooperation efforts, Oberg argues in this insider account. A self-described lifelong space nut and an expert on the Russian space program, Oberg shows that despite U.S. fear over the Soviet Union's achievements in space, the failed missions during communism's decay were nothing new: the U.S.S.R. had simply covered up their earlier mistakes, such as fires aboard Soviet space stations. And not surprisingly, these mistakes only multiplied as funding for the Soviet space program dried up in the late 1980s and early '90s. But Oberg has a larger ax to grind here joint space efforts. Since the mid-1970s, the U.S. and the Soviet Union increasingly tried to cooperate in space; Oberg opposes this teamwork for two reasons, the first being that space cooperation didn't produce the mutual understanding it was supposed to. He's on solid ground here, particularly when he discusses the communist era. But what really seems to gnaw at him is that cooperation has become NASA's major justification for space missions. As he puts it, "If the Russians aren't involved, the project shouldn't occur" is the prevailing attitude. While Oberg includes interesting information about past and future space programs, he fails to provide enough fodder to convince the non-space enthusiast that pursuing new U.S.-manned flights to the moon or even Mars is worth the time or the money. (Nov.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Oberg (Uncovering Soviet Disasters: Exploring the Limits of Glasnost), a former NASA contract employee, believes that Russia (and before it the Soviet Union) has cooperated with the United States on space missions not to promote international goodwill or advance scientific research but rather to secure funding for its own space program, maintain a continued presence in the international space market, and obtain access to U.S. technology. The U.S.-Russian space partnership, which occurred in 1993 when the "Space Race" finally ended, has cost the United States billions, and return on the investment has been minimal. The author blames primarily NASA, accusing the agency of overlooking significant cultural differences that hinder cooperation between the two nations, passively accepting delayed deliveries of overpriced and possibly unsafe space equipment, ignoring the lessons learned during previous cooperative ventures, and covering up its own errors and inefficiencies. Yet, sour as he may seem, Oberg still believes that the United States and Russia could have a promising future as space partners provided both nations bring realistic expectations to the relationship. For this work of investigative journalism, Oberg had access to Russian agencies, people, and archives relating to the space program. For academic and larger public libraries. Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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