President Boris Yeltsin honored two American astronauts Friday for their experience aboard the Mir, awards that came only a day after lawmakers in the U.S. Congress voiced doubts about the aging space station's ability to fly.
Yeltsin issued a decree giving the Friendship Award to Jerry Linenger and John Blaha for "their contribution to the development of the Russian-U.S. cooperation in space exploration."Russian space officials had their own response to American congressional criticism, insisting Friday that the Mir provided a unique training ground and remains safe for its crew despite frequent breakdowns.
"I think that safety is clearly ensured," Mikhail Sinelshchikov, chief of the Russian Space Agency's manned flights program, told The Associated Press.
He noted that the Mir had now been in space for 11 years, far longer than the five years originally planned, making periodic breakdowns inevitable.
At a congressional hearing Thursday in Washington, some lawmakers said they believed the Mir's recent accidents had made it too dangerous to fly and urged NASA to consider keeping Americans away from the orbiting station.
"There has been sufficient evidence put before this hearing to raise doubts about the safety of continued American long-term presence on the Mir," said Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin.
Both Russian and U.S. space officials have defended the Mir, saying its safety is thoroughly evaluated. Breakdowns are inevitable on any long-term spacecraft, and the Mir provides invaluable training in dealing with such problems, they say.
"If the Americans disagree, it's their right," Sinelshchikov said. "But I've talked with NASA representatives and they think that the experience they are getting on the (Mir) station is priceless."
Russian space officials hope to keep Mir in orbit at least through 1999. An international space station is expected to go into orbit next year, though it won't be completed until 2002.