(19 Sep 1997) English/Nat
Officials of the American space agency, NASA, have told a U-S government hearing that the troubled Russian space station Mir is safe enough for astronauts to continue to live aboard.
But other witnesses told the U-S House Committee on Science that the craft, which has been beset by a series of problems, is potentially hazardous.
The hearing is investigating the risks of sending more U-S astronauts to Mir.
It was prompted by a series of failures aboard Mir which have provoked some critics to say warning signs are not being heeded by NASA.
The timing of the hearing is important - in just a week the space shuttle Atlantis is due to carry David Wolf up to the space station to replace British-born astronaut Micheal Foale.
Roberta Gross, Inspector General of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is worried by the risks.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The recent cluster of accidents, mishaps and serious problems on the Mir raises an obvious questions - has NASA implemented appropriate oversight mechanisms, procedures and controls? Objectively and adequately assessed the risks of continued astronaut flights aboard the Mir?"
SUPER CAPTION: Roberta L. Gross, NASA Inspector General
The catalogue of mishaps aboard Mir have caused public embarrassment, both in the U-S and Russia.
There was a fire in February that got hot enough to melt metal.
Crewmen were forced to use tools to remove clamps inadvertently securing fire extinguishers to fight the blaze.
Then, in June, came the collision with a Russian cargo craft punched a hole in a Mir module, causing a life-threatening leak and disrupting the electrical supply.
Some of the damage since has been repaired, but the module still leaks and is sealed off.
A computer that controls key parts of Mir has crashed repeatedly, requiring a painstaking process of restoration and repair.
But former astronaut Frank Culbertson, who is in charge of NASA's missions to Mir, said he knew many of the astronauts very well - and he wouldn't send them to a space station he didn't consider safe.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Those we know me and my history have seen that I take the lives of my friends very seriously and would not send anyone on something that I would not do myself and would not do in the future."
SUPER CAPTION: Frank Culbertson, U-S programme manager for NASA's missions to Mir
But a top NASA consulting engineer, addressing the committee as an individual, voiced his scepticism of Russia's ability to ensure the safety of American astronauts.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Even top Russian space experts attribute recent mishaps on Mir to the overall decline of the Russian space industry. Some people claim that future Russian space safety can somehow be proven by past space glories as if there was purely a numerical cause and effect. But the true causes of space successes can easily be measured, and the recent decay of those very same factors does not auger well for future reliability."
SUPER CAPTION: James Oberg, NASA Consultant
U-S astronaut Shannon Lucid, who had earlier said that during her stay the carbon dioxide levels on Mir often climbed so high it was harder for crew members to think and easier to make mistakes, was at the hearing, endorsing the programme.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I tell you, the whole time I was on Mir, I felt very safe, and I know why. One reason was that we had the Soyuz there. If anything happened we could jump into the Soyuz and come back to earth, that's very, very comforting."
SUPER CAPTION: Shannon Lucid, NASA astronaut
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