13 March 1998
GCC10 TEXT: JOINT STATEMENT ON AERONAUTICS AND SPACE COOPERATION
(Text: White House release) (1370) (The following joint statement was released March 11, 1998, by the White House Office of the Vice President following the tenth meeting of the U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation, also known as the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission.) JOINT STATEMENT ON AERONAUTICS AND SPACE COOPERATION The Vice President of the United States of America and the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation note with great satisfaction the continued fruitful cooperation taking place under the auspices of the Space Committee in the fields of aeronautics, space science, and Earth science and environmental monitoring. Cooperation in each of these fields has resulted in many significant achievements in the five years of work under the Joint Commission. The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government strongly support efforts to continue to enhance U.S.-Russian cooperation, and note the benefits of this cooperation specifically in aeronautics and aviation, astrophysical studies, exploring the planet Mars, and studying the Earth's environment. In particular, the Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note the following progress in the Space Committee's endeavors, and look forward to the accomplishment of next steps in the following areas. AERONAUTICS Tu-144 LL Flying Laboratory: The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government congratulate the Tu-144LL team, consisting of NASA, Tupolev and other leading U.S. and Russian aviation companies, on the successful completion of nineteen flights of the Tu-144 project. These flights allowed researchers to compare full-scale supersonic aircraft flight data with results from wind tunnel tests and computer models, and provided unique insight toward the development of new supersonic passenger aircraft. The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government consider this project to be a model for U.S. and Russian government-business partnerships in the development of advanced technologies. Supersonic Combustion Ramjet (Scramjet) Project: The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note the progress in this important project. The Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) shipped a Scramjet engine to NASA in Fall 1997. In February 1998, NASA and CIAM conducted a successful flight test of another engine at Sary Shagan launch facility in Kazakhstan, at Mach 6.5, which surpassed previously tested scramjet engine concepts. SPACE SCIENCE Current Cooperation Priorities: The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note the importance of cooperation in astrophysics and the exploration of Mars. In particular, they note the need to ensure progress in work on the Spectrum-X-Gamma mission and to complete this important multinational project as soon as possible. In addition, the U.S. and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to continue their efforts involving: -- Russian participation in the U.S. Mars-Surveyor 1998 mission including providing optical elements for the Mars orbiter, and a Lidar instrument for environmental research on the lander segment of the mission. The U.S. and Russia are discussing the possibility of integrating a Russian high energy neutron detector into a U.S. instrument on the U.S. Mars Surveyor 2001 orbiter mission. -- Russian participation in the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) international scientific experiment, which is currently scheduled for flight on the Space Shuttle mission STS-91 in May 1998, and on the International Space Station in the 2001-2002 time frame. -- maintaining progress on the Spektr-Radioastron mission. The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note that during GCC-8 in February 1997, NASA and RSA were directed to prepare a plan for long-term scientific cooperation for expanded utilization of Russian biosatellites for microgravity biotechnology, and for biomedical research. Since then, NASA and RSA have been working together to develop such a plan for missions using Russian biosatellites. Discussions regarding a potential new contractual arrangement, which would support Life Sciences, Microgravity Sciences, technology development and commercial payloads are being considered as topics for the upcoming XI or XII Conference on Space Biology and Aerospace Medicine. These discussions will include plans for implementation of this activity by both sides and costs associated with support for the program from both the U.S. and Russia. EARTH SCIENCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government underscored the economic, social and scientific need to better understand how the Earth's environmental processes work. Analysis and application of data remotely sensed from space are essential to understanding the global environment and how it is changing. The U.S. and Russia look forward to building on past successes in this area. Meteor-3M/Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III spaceflight mission: The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note the continuing progress toward this joint mission, in which the U.S. SAGE experiment will be carried out aboard a Russian Meteor-3M satellite in spring 1999. The SAGE instrument measures the ozone vertical profile, as well as distribution of aerosols, nitrogen dioxide and water vapor in the stratosphere. Data from SAGE will provide a valuable contribution to the study of atmospheric ozone. Meteor-3M (2)/Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) spaceflight mission: The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note the significant progress that has been made in development efforts for a second joint TOMS mission started in October 1996. This mission involves the integration of a U.S.-provided TOMS instrument on a Russian Meteor-3 satellite, planned for launch in 2000. Meteor-3M/TOMS will provide long-term mapping and monitoring of global ozone content in the Earth's atmosphere, giving scientists data on the evolution of the ozone hole in the Antarctic and on the observed ozone lows in the northern polar region. Continued cooperation in Earth Science and Environmental Monitoring: The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government encourage continued cooperation between the U.S. and Russia in scientific data exchange and analysis related to atmospheric ozone research, meteorological forecasting, natural disasters, volcanology, forests and vegetation conditions, oceanography, and hydrology including the utilization of scientific equipment on board the Priroda module within the Mir station. Continued cooperation in these areas is important to the study of Earth as a system. Continued cooperation in the committee on Earth Observation Satellites is also encouraged as that multilateral body continues to develop an integrated global observing strategy. SATELLITE-AIDED SEARCH AND RESCUE The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government commend the Russian Space Agency, the Russian State Enterprise for Electroradionavigation and Satellite Communications, NOAA and NASA for their continued success in supporting the International COSPAS-SARSAT Program for satellite-aided search and rescue. The U.S. and Russia look forward to the enhancement of existing systems later this year. To date, COSPAS-SARSAT has assisted in the sea, air, and land rescue of more than 7,900 users around the world. COORDINATION OF OPERATIONAL SPACE ACTIVITIES The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note the importance of improved coordination in civil space operations and the preliminary activities of the U.S.-Russian joint working group to enhance this coordination. They note that the amendments to the U.S. proposal developed by interested parties in Russia was presented to the U.S. side of the joint working group for consideration. A U.S. response to this revised proposal is expected shortly with a goal of completing this proposal for presentation at the next session of the Commission. COMMERCIAL SPACE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government note the significant progress achieved at the industrial cooperation level in the area of launch systems and associated hardware. They express their support for mutually beneficial investments from U.S. aerospace companies into Russian aerospace enterprises and joint commercial activities where both Russian enterprises and U.S. industry produce materials and hardware which compete in the world marketplace. The two sides agree to engage in bilateral discussions at the governmental level on ways to streamline administrative procedures that can hinder cooperation between U.S. and Russian companies.
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