Scroll down to read this post.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands. Instead, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.


NASA and Roscosmos finalize barter deal for flying astronauts to ISS

As expected, mere hours after the firing of Dmitry Rogozin as head of Roscosmos, the Russians finally signed a barter deal with NASA for flying astronauts on each other’s spacecraft.

U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio will launch to the space station from Kazakhstan with two Russians in September. That same month, Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, will join two Americans and one Japanese aboard a SpaceX rocket flying from Florida. Another crew swap will occur next spring.

No money will exchange hands under the agreement, according to NASA.

It appears that the firing of Rogozin by Putin signals larger strategic goals. Putin wants to defuse the tensions between the west and Russia, and this barter deal indicates Rogozin’s firing has achieved that aim, at least in space. Whether Roscosmos’s new head, Yuri Borisov, can regain Russia’s international commercial rocket customers is more questionable. Roscosmos under Rogozin proved to be a very unreliable partner. Regaining trust so that westerners will be willing to buy its services again could take decades.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

12 comments

  • Col Beausabre

    Why would the US want to do that….we have a demonstrated American way to get our people to the ISS……as Rogozin would put it, let the Kremlin get broomsticks

  • Col Beausabre: The barter deal really centers on safety. The manned capsules are the station’s lifeboats. It is essential that everyone know how to fly both.

  • Joe

    My only concern is Yuri Borisov is more military than his predecessor. Hopefully he can figure out the direction the Russian space program should take. I doubt there will be much in the commercialization part of his plan.

  • Richard M

    Col Beausabre,

    To expand a little on what Bob said:

    The new seat swap agreement is for assurance that there will always be at least one person on the ISS to operate the US part of the station (USOS), or conversely, one person to operate the Russian modules (ROS), in the event that a crew needs to return home early. This is because if one person becomes severely ill or badly injured, the whole crew must return to Earth, since NASA policy is to not leave someone up on the ISS without a way to return to Earth. Currently, that would result in the USOS being unoccupied if the Crew Dragon needs to return (or the Russian side unoccupied if the Soyuz must suddenly return). Something NASA would like to avoid if possible.

    Hopefully it becomes clearer why this difficulty will still remain for NASA even once Starliner is operational. The USOS is not going to have two crew vehicles simultaneously docked save for the brief intervals of crew handoffs or commercial mission visits (like Axiom’s this spring).

    Now, I’m merely describing NASA’s reason. I am not endorsing it.

    I think….the longer term answer here may be when Axiom Space starts installing its modules on ISS in 2024. That will add additional docking ports and additional life support, and NASA could probably work up a deal with Axiom to have one of its crew trained at all times to teemporarily take over USOS maintenance if the NASA crew suddenly had to leave. By the way. the proposed Axiom, Northrop Grumman, and Orbital Reef stations, when complete, are supposed to be able to support multiple crews at once, so they shouldn’t have to worry about unoccupied stations, barring some really, really bad luck. At that point, NASA could achieve its objective even if it had to completely break off from the Russians.

  • Ray Van Dune

    It takes a lot of focus for an Italy-sized economy to threaten the world, and that focus necessarily has to be on ICBMs, not commercial spacecraft. That’s why the Russians’ primary manned launcher is based on a 1950s-vintage ICBM. Of course, when it is convenient, the French will happily start using the Soyuz again, to show their independence.

  • pzatchok

    Buy and park another Crew Dragon up there.

    It does not even have to be attached to a docking port. Its remote controlled anyways.

    I wonder if a fake docking port could be attached to the structure just to store one? Data and power hook up of course.

  • Max

    Richard M said;

    “when complete, are supposed to be able to support multiple crews at once, so they shouldn’t have to worry about unoccupied stations, barring some really, really bad luck.”

    Like thrusters firing out of control?
    https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/thrusters-on-soyuz-docked-to-iss-fire-improperly/

  • Richard M

    Max,

    On the ISS, NASA is in charge of providing electricity and thermal control. Roscosmos is in charge of providing maneuvering thrust and excitement.

  • GaryMike

    Rogozin: When being Russian is deemed to be too obviously Russian for the times.

  • sippin_bourbon

    pzatchok,

    It is not a matter of just parking an extra capsule. Even dormant, they have a window of time for remaining in space.

    A true, dedicated vessel for safe abandon and return to earth (lifeboat) has never been developed. We just always rely on the vessels used to get them up there.

  • Jeff Wright

    So…how many chickens is a Dragon seat worth, again?

  • pzatchok

    rotate the extra Dragon out every time a new one is sent up. Thus minimizing the total time they spend in space.
    This way there is always an American escape vessel in place and ready. The Russians can deal with their own people by themselves.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *