WASHINGTON
-- The U.S. Senate approved Sept. 21 a bill that would clear the way for NASA to
buy the Russian Soyuz vehicles it needs to continue to occupy the International
Space Station beyond this year.
The bill
was introduced Sept. 15 by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard
Lugar (R-Ind.) to provide temporary relief from provisions in the Iran
Nonproliferation Act of 2000 that bar U.S. purchases of Russian human
spaceflight hardware as long as Russia continues to help Iran in its pursuit of
nuclear know-how and advanced weapons technology.
Lugar's
bill, S. 1713, changes the law to permit NASA to buy any Russian space hardware
or services it needs for the International Space Station program until 2012.
The bill
was approved the morning of Sept. 21 by unanimous consent, a Senate procedure
that allows non-controversial legislation to bypass a floor vote.
The U.S.
House of Representatives also is considering amending the Iran Nonproliferation
Act to permit NASA to buy Soyuz vehicles, but it has yet to take any
legislative action.
The House
could either pick up and pass the Senate's bill or introduce a bill of its own
that would have to be reconciled with the Senate version before becoming law.
Without
relief from the Iran act, NASA could soon find itself unable to send its
astronauts to the space station for extended stays. A Soyuz capsule set to carry a
new two-person
crew - and one space tourist - to the station Sept. 30 is the last one Russia
is obligated to provide at no charge to the United States under a bilateral
agreement.
NASA and
the U.S. State Department formally asked Congress in June to amend the Iran act
to permit the United States to make use of Russian space technology in its
space exploration plans.
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