• Forum
• SITREP
• Military
• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security

• Space

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Public Eye

Soviet Space Cooperation

Soviet Attitude Toward International Cooperation in Space *

* Prepared by Joseph G. Whelan, Senior Specialist in International Affairs, Senior Specialists Division, CRS.

SPACE COOPERATION: AN IMPERATIVE IN THE PRESENT

ERA

COMMITMENTS IN ACCORD

AN EXPANDING UNIVERSE FOR SPACE ACTIVITIES

THE SOVIET ATTITUDE TOWARD INTERKOSMOS COOPERATION

This brief and admittedly cursory review of Soviet cooperation in Interkosmos, based largely on Soviet sources and thus deserving of some skepticism, suggests three points; namely, that the Soviets have been deeply committed to space cooperation with their Communist allies; that they have provided the organizational structure and leadership for such cooperation; and, most important, that they have furnished the means for carrying out its program. In sum, the Soviets demonstrated, at least in their restrictive context, a positive attitude toward space cooperation.

Political motives seem in large measure to underlay Soviet purposes in that space cooperation encourages the forces of East European integration and provides an attractive instrumentality for achieving political gains in international politics, particularly in the Third World. Though the Soviets have had to lay out the hardware and resources to further Interkosmos cooperation, at least to this nonscientific eye, and from scattered judgments of space authorities, they have got somthing in return beyond scoring political points: They have been able to draw upon the scientific and technical resources and skills of their allies. (9)

Through space cooperation in Interkosmos, therefore, the Soviets seem to have aptly placed space science and technology in the service of their politics and have gained something in both areas for their effort. (10)

As for Russia's East European allies and other member states in Interkosmos, through Interkosmos they have been able to participate in perhaps 20th century man's most dramatic enterprise, space exploration, and by their own assessment and those of Soviet space authorities they have been able to accrue political, scientific, and practical benefits for themselves. (11)

References:

A. SOVIET SPACE PROGRAMS: 1976-80, SUPPORTING VEHICLES AND LAUNCH VEHICLES, POLITICAL GOALS AND PURPOSES, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN SPACE, ADMINISTRATION, RE-SOURCE BURDEN, FUTURE OUTLOOK PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF HON. BOB PACKWOOD, Chairman, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, UNITED STATES SENATE, Part 1, Dec. 1982.

9. NASA officials have commented favorably on aspects of the Interkosmos program, often in the context of cooperation and the benefits accrued to the Soviets. With respect to the processing of materials in space. Dr. Calio observed in March 1979: "The Soviet program recently completed a series of about 40 processing experiments aboard Salyut-6 and arranged several rendezvous with their space laboratory. The Soviets now have a data base that will not be available in the U.S. program until 1982." (Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Hearings, NASA Authorization for Fiscal Year 1980, 1979, pt. 3, p. 1352.)

During the hearings Dr. Calio called on Dr. Carruthers who was accompanying him to comment on materials processing on Salyut 6. Dr. Carruthers made the following evaluation of this aspect of the Interkosmos program:

The Russian program moved out quite independently and they also have been building on Apollo-Soyuz experience. They had completed by last summer a total of 14 weeks of experimentation on Salyut 6 and I'm sure you're aware of that. The results of these experiments are just now beginning to be publicized; they are in exactly the same areas in which we are interested. They have had frequent access to Salyut 6. They revisited the space laboratory three times while the experiments were in progress. We have not, however, been able to assess their results in any detail. We have had some preliminary debriefings from the Polish experimenter on Salyut-6. He was invited to the United States in January and completely and openly discussed his research with the scientific community here. So those interactions are beginning to occur. Our general assessment, though, is that the quality of their work is at the level where we left off, in the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz area, and we feel we both have substantial amounts of work to do to bring our science and technology base further along to make more effective use of the space capabilities that in fact the Russians now have. It's my understanding that they will be doing more materials processing experiments on Salyut 6 within the next few months. The expansion of those capabilities, I think, will depend on the interest of people in the Soviet Union, and here in the materials and industrial communities in taking advantage of the opportunities."

10. (Ibid., p. 1320-1321.)

Other favorable observations have been made on the work in Interkosmos. Congressman James J. Harford, AIAA executive secretary, said in a report on the 28th IAF meeting in Prague: "How sound the Interkosmos program may be cannot be judged from the papers given by Eastern Bloc authors at IAF Congresses. . . . Yet a diligent observer finds evidence of real accomplishment." Harford proceeded to analyze various presentations and favorably evaluate the contents. (Harford, Space Roles for the Less than Superpowers, p. 18.) President Marcel Barrere of the IAF also made a favorable appraisal of Interkosmos. According to a Tass report on the Prague congress, the IAF President spoke highly of the importance of Interkosmos international programme for the progress of space science and technology. This programme, that unites researchers from socialist countries, is unrivaled by the diversity and uniqueness of its scientific and applied research, he said." ( Moscow Tass in English, 2110 GMT, Oct. 1, 1977, in FBIS Daily Report: Soviet Union, vol. 3, Oct. 3,1977, p. U2.)

10. This idea permeates the article by Kapitonov on Soviet space cooperation, particularly in the Interkosmos program. "Cooperation in the exploration of space is a part of the process of socialist integration in one of the most modern areas of science and technology," he declared (p. 83). Proper acknowledgement is given to the role of detente in extending the benefits of space cooperation (p. 83). Finally, Brezhnev's reply to East German leader Erich Honecker on the occasion of the successful launching of Soyuz 22 and the Raduga experiments on board underscores the collective benefits to be derived from Interkosmos: "This space experiment, prepared by the scientists, engineers and workers of the Soviet Union and the GDR and carried out by Soviet cosmonauts, testifies to the close cooperation of our countries in the exploration and use of space for peaceful purposes, and in the interests of the economy and science of the U.S.S.R. and the GDR, and of the whole socialist community" (p. 82).

11. In an interview with Tass special correspondent Aleksandr Romanov, Lt. General of the Air Force Vladimir Shatalov, head of the cosmonaut training program, member of the Interkosmos Council, and a veteran cosmonaut, commented extensively on the cooperative aspects of the Soviet space program and the practical benefits derived. During 1975-80, he said, "more than 20 Soviet researchers and seven researchers from fraternal socialist countries worked outside the earth." He pointed out the practical significance of this effort, saying, "More than 400 economic, research, technical and production organizations representing various branches of Soviet economy are interested in this exploration. According to estimates of experts every rouble invested into outer space exploration ensures a return of up to 10 roubles." In commenting upon "the most characteristic features" of space exploration in the past 5 years, General Shatalov said that "the idea of space exploration by the joint efforts of people has reached new practical heights in the outgoing five-year plan period.' Regular flights of international crews have been started, bringing together with Soviet researchers representatives of Czechoslovakia, Poland, the GDR, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, and Cuba. "The pooling of the research and technical potential of the peoples of the socialist community," Shatalov stressed, "brings wonderful results for their economy and science. The academies of sciences of the member-countries of the Interkosmos Programme have received useful data about natural resources, about the state of habitat, the regularities of the atmosphere, the sun-earth interrelationship and many other things." In brief, Shatalov said, during this period "solid scientific-technical groundwork has been laid for the cosmonautics of tomorrow." All of this effort and success, he concluded, "points out the necessity of a further study and exploration of outer space in the interests of science, technology and the national economy." (Moscow Tass in English, 1132 GMT, Dec. 11, 1980, in FBIS Daily Report: Soviet Union, Dec. 12, 1980, vol. 3, pp. U2-U3.)