Toby Westerman, Editor and Publisher                                                                                   Copyright 2003

Return to INA TODAY.com  homepage The following selections are made available for our readers' consideration. If you find them interesting -- support this site, buy a book -- or books! Russia's remarkable air/sea craft: Russia's Ekranoplans: The Caspian Sea... Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces Another selection: Russian Aviation and Air Power International News Analysis -- the in-depth print report -- covers threats to our nation and views other media, from the right or the left, won't address. INA has no hidden agendas, "sacred cows," or "unspoken understandings" that restrain our news coverage. We filter nothing. INA uses sources others cannot -- or will not -- use to report on topics the other news organizations won't touch. Order 12 issues of International News Analysis for only $29.95 (U.S. funds; $39.95 Canadian and overseas). International News Analysis provides in-depth background on the events reported by INAToday.com. International News Analysis gives readers unique perspective on world events, since 1996. Send subscriptions to: International News Analysis. 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Save on Your Taxes With A Donation to International News Analysis Institute Corp! Inatoday.com is sponsored by International News Analysis Institute Corp, a tax deductible, nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization. Your contribution will help the real story to be told on overseas events, untainted by the dominant media. We provide the news other sources can't or won't tell you about. Inatoday.com directly benefits you. Please provide us with your support. You may contribute by credit card: -- or by check to: International News Analysis 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Russia to Surpass U.S. in Space? February 7, 2003 By Toby Westerman Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today www.inatoday.com Declaring that Russian spacecraft are "smaller…but more reliable" than those produced by the U.S., Moscow is ready to assume leadership in space travel. While the U.S. space fleet remains grounded, Russia now is the only nation capable of supplying the International Space Station (ISS) and the three astronauts currently on board. Since the ISS started functioning in 2000, the U.S. has had the primary responsibility of supplying the space station, with Russia playing only a secondary role. The destruction of the Columbia has left Russia's Soyuz space vehicles and the Progress cargo ships as the only methods of reaching the ISS. The shuttle disaster is expected to prove to be a windfall for the cash-strapped Russian Space Agency, with expectations of expanding its space fleet. Moscow plans to follow through with the addition of a Russian-made component - or module - to the construction of the space station. "Now that only Russia will handle the supply of the ISS, …[many] more ships will be needed," Moscow stated, adding that Russia "will soon add its own module to the ISS," according the Voice of Russia World Service, the official broadcasting service of the Russian government. Moscow's declaration comes as the United States continues to reel from the Columbia space shuttle disaster, and as doubts are being voiced over America's role in space. The space program is acknowledged to be a vital factor in the present American preeminence in technology, both civilian and military. Moscow is also weighing the possibility of working closely with scientists from the European Union, particularly the French National Space Research Center, as Russian rocketry takes over for the American space shuttle. Russia's close ally, Communist China, is soon expected to launch its own manned spacecraft, using, in large part, Russian technology. A large-scale transfer - legal and illegal --of the most sophisticated of America's technology occurred following the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Before the close of the Soviet era, both Moscow and Beijing were substantially outclassed by U.S. technology, while a thriving America economy provided the capability to put research theory into practice. Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today INA Today.com 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Get 12 issues of International News Analysis for only $29.95 (U.S. funds; $39.95 Canadian and overseas). Send subscriptions to: International News Analysis 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Return to INA TODAY.com homepage