U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said
he fears Russia's aggressive action against Georgia may have some serious
consequences on the American space program.
If Russia fails to hold
back military action in the former Soviet republic, it could hurt U.S. chances
of accessing the International Space Station once NASA retires
the space shuttles in 2010, the Democrat from Orlando said Tuesday.
The Russian Soyuz vehicle
will be the only option available for NASA to send crew and cargo to the space
station until the shuttle's
replacement becomes available for manned missions in 2015. Nelson fears
deteriorating U.S.-Russia politics may result in "Russia denying us rides
or charging exorbitant amounts for them."
NASA's agreement to purchase rides
on the Soyuz came about from a waiver Congress granted the agency from the
Iran-Syria Non-Proliferation Act. The law prohibits the United States from
buying space-related goods and services from Russia while that nation exports
nuclear technology to Iran.
NASA's waiver from the ban
expires in 2011. Nelson fears that recent developments between Russia and
Georgia may make it hard for lawmakers to extend the exemption.
"It was a tough sell
before, but it was doable simply because we didn't have a choice. We don't want
to deny ourselves access to the space station, the very place we have built and
paid," Nelson said. "It's going to be a tougher sell now unless there
are critical developments during the next 48 to 72 hours."
Nelson blamed the Bush
administration for making the nation so reliant on Russia by failing to
devote more money to the space program.
"If I were president
I'd be pulling out all the stops to get Russia to understand the consequences
of continued bad behavior," said Nelson, who just returned from a trip to
Afghanistan with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other lawmakers.
The Russian incursion had
just begun as the delegation was leaving central Asia, Nelson said.
"We actually flew over
Georgia coming out of Kazakhstan because the Russians would not give us
diplomatic overflight," Nelson said.
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