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Russian Cargo Ship Docks At ISS, Preps For Tourist

Posted by Zonk on from the back-to-business dept.

christchurch writes "Russia unmanned cargo ship Progress M-54, carrying food and supplies, docked at the International Space Station safely yesterday. A two-man replacement crew is scheduled to head to the station on 1st of October, along with an American scientist-businessman, Gregory Olsen, who is paying the Russian space agency $20 million for a weeklong visit."

3 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. Re:UNMANNED? by Cruithne · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not to slight Russia, but with all of their economic troubles, its troubling that their space program is comparable to ours in many ways... and in some cases, like this one, actually ahead.

    I wish the American public had some national pride and a desire to explore :(

  2. The other governments must be peeved by confusion · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yes, Russia is having to pay to get him there, but Russia is pretty much treating this multi-national scientific endeavor as a high priced hotel. Why not let Hilton or someone pop for a hotel module and start funding some of the space program, since there doesn't seem to be a shortage of millionaires wanting to go to space. Maybe then we could fix the hubble or some other meaningful science.

    Jerry
    http://www.cyvin.org/

  3. Re:UNMANNED? by bogaboga · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Like I contributed some time ago, "never trust the Russians." These guys are technologically gifted. They achieve so much with very little, and with no fanfare at all. If it were we the Americans, all major networks would be carrying this story as if we have no troubles of our own.

    There was a saying that if the Russians had not participated in the ISS. I will never forget the day I came up-close to an Antonov-124. I have never seen a bigger aircraft.

    Years when the US air-force was trumpeting the stealth fighter as unstoppable, the Russians said there is nothing that takes in air and dissipates heat that cannot be detected. This was proven when one of our fighters was downed in the Balkan's war. The air-force attributed the downing to a technical fault. Of course this was not correct.

    There is also this piece: When time came to retire the MIR, we put a spin on where its fragments would fall - mostly negative. But not only did MIR's fragments land in the correct spot, they landed with an accuracy we as Americans can only dream of for an un-manned craft. There is so much these guys can do. I wish we could emulate some of their achievements.