On the scene with Miles O'Brien in Moscow

November 1, 2000
Web posted at: 3:26 p.m. EST (2026 GMT)

Miles O'Brien

CNN space correspondent Miles O'Brien reports from Moscow on the landmark space mission that has placed the first crew aboard the International Space Station.

Q: How historic is this trip and the docking?

O'BRIEN: NASA officials have been fond of saying over the last couple weeks that October 30 might very well have been the last day that humans were not in space. Now that is perhaps a little bit of wishful thinking. But, if you think about it, it is within the realm of possibility.

They - NASA and the 15 other nations participating in this project -- intend to occupy this space station continuously for 15 years at least. And who knows what will happen after that.

If you're looking at milestones in space history and in geo-political history, this is one of them. I tend to look at the space station project less as an exploration project in space, but more as a way of coming up with ways for nations to work together constructively.

Based on that criteria alone, you'd have to say it's been a success -- not an easy success, there've been a lot of challenges and a lot of hard-work to come up with common ground, particularly between the U.S. and Russians. But when you consider that the two countries are coming off 40 years of Cold War adversarial relations and heated competition, this is quite remarkable and I think, thus far, you'd have to put the space station in the success category from the geo-political aspect.

Q: Is there any resentment there that an American is commanding this crew?

O'BRIEN: You don't hear a lot of resentment that an American is commanding the first crew, because although there are two Russian cosmonauts he is technically commanding, it's not the linear lines of authority you might expect in a purely military environment. But Russians know that in four months there will be a Russian commander with two Americans. It's going to alternate that way.

There had to be a decision on the first crew to have a commander of one of the nationalities. And quite frankly, the American side of things has put up a lot more money for the space station.

You also have to remember that at least for this first "increment crew," as they call it, Russia mission control is calling the shots and controlling the station. I think that resentment is not a real issue. Sure, there are going to be some people who are hard core and will have problems with it.

Overall, I think what you really are seeing here is a tremendous sense of relief and euphoria.

The Russians have taken a beating from the U.S. and other partners in the course of this relationship because they've been so hard-pressed to meet their obligations. And when they finally got down to it, when the rubber met the road, the Russians have come through and delivered hardware that works.

I think that brings with it a tremendous amount of relief for the Russians in a sense that they truly are full partners now.

Q: Has this mission helped reinvigorate the Russian space program?

O'BRIEN: Clearly the economic collapse over here has been very, very hard on the space program, and it shows everywhere you go at Baikonur. Having said that, while it seems the Russians operate in conditions the U.S. wouldn't go along with and wouldn't allow to happen, the Russians pay attention to the things that count the most. The hardware they build in very reliable; it's certainly a lot less complicated than the space shuttle and the associated systems with it. What the Russians build works very well.

The term that Bill Shepherd, the first commander of this mission, uses ... is that the Russians build "bullet-proof hardware." It kind of belies the surroundings, but the proof is in the pudding.

Q: Is Russia excited about the space station and is it now ready to give up on Mir?

O'BRIEN: I think the answer is yes and yes. There is excitement. And I think the people who truly understand the realities of Mir and the realities of the funding, which is very bleak, understand that this new space station is their only way to maintain some sort of space program. In a perfect world, they would love to have their own unilateral space station and be flying their own craft to it. But the reality is not lost on anyone here. They understand the financial constraints.

I think ISS gives them a great opportunity to continue something that this whole nation is very proud of. Their success in space over the years and their accomplishments are things that are embedded in their culture. If they lost that, it would hurt. ...

As far as Mir goes, I'd be willing to predict now that there are Russians back in space, the ISS is operating and they can point to a continued presence in space - couple that with the fact Mir is approaching a 15th anniversary in February -- ... if you throw all that together, I think the time is ripe for Mir to be deorbited.

I think it is a lot easier to pull the plug on Mir when you consider all those factors. They can proudly state they've had 15 excellent years, Mir has made history and that they are actively participating in the international space station.

Q: Are NASA officials talking about just how important this mission is in helping restore the agency's image after last year's Mars program failures?

O'BRIEN: I had a brief conversation with Dan Goldin subsequent to the launch. Dan Goldin is a man who has taken a bit of a beating over "faster, better, cheaper" ... but he was a man who was beaming yesterday wearing his lucky hat, as he does at every shuttle launch. He wore the hat to the Soyuz launch so it apparently worked.

To paraphrase him, he said this is when the relationship actually gets harder; we're going to have problems with people who feel isolated; they're going to have communication problems, they're going to have sleep disorders, they're going to have bone loss, they're going to have all matters of human challenges. At the end of all that, Goldin said, "Isn't it sweet?"

What Goldin understands so well is that agency only shines when it takes big risks. I think the people who surround him understand that as well. In that sense, the Mars failures are to be expected. They had an awful lot of bad luck with it, but some of it goes into the nothing-ventured, nothing-gained category.

First space station residents speed toward new home
October 31, 2000

NASA
Boeing: International Space Station
NASA: Human Spaceflight

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