Star-Crossed Orbits: Inside The U.S.-Russian Space Alliance [Hardcover]

James Oberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2001

Ever since Sputnik, we have been locked in a space race with the Russians. With the end of the Soviet era the relationship has evolved into a collaborative one, albeit with strong competitive underpinnings. With the building of the International Space Station, the strains in the alliance are beginning to show. This volume is a detailed, investigative history of the U.S.-Russian space relationship from a long-time NASA insider turned commentator. Oberg describes, from the points of view of key individuals both inside and outside the program, the strengths and weaknesses that each side has brought to the partnership, the original hopes and promises for its benefits, and its triumphs and dissappointments. Proficient in Russian and a frequent visitor to that country, Oberg reveals for the first time the extent of the greed, corruption, and covered-up setbacks that have marked the devolution of the Soviet space program to its recent virtual collapse. He covers the U.S.-Mir venture, and NASA's reluctance to learn from its lessons. Ultimately, Oberg examines the prospects for the International Space Station, a project that he believes was begun with good intentions, but is in danger of running aground. With the Russians unable (or unwilling) to build their pieces of the station, NASA must assume more and more responsibility for it in an era when their "faster, cheaper, better" philosophy is already wearing very thin. Recent losses such as the Mars Observer are nothing compared to the disasters that could befall a cheaply built space station. This is a story told with a balanced perspective. Oberg has extensive contacts within NASA and is considered a leading expert in the Russian space prgram. While he is still enthusiastic about many of NASA's goals, he is also able to take an informed critical stance on the space program's shortcomings. "Star-Crossed Orbits" is full of the technology and space lore that space buffs love; but it also contains colorful characters, political intrigue and timely discussion of international space issues, making it an appealing book for the general reader.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Inaccurate perceptions over the efficacy of the Russian space program long fueled the U.S.-Russian space race and are now driving current cooperation efforts, Oberg argues in this insider account. A self-described lifelong space nut and an expert on the Russian space program, Oberg shows that despite U.S. fear over the Soviet Union's achievements in space, the failed missions during communism's decay were nothing new: the U.S.S.R. had simply covered up their earlier mistakes, such as fires aboard Soviet space stations. And not surprisingly, these mistakes only multiplied as funding for the Soviet space program dried up in the late 1980s and early '90s. But Oberg has a larger ax to grind here joint space efforts. Since the mid-1970s, the U.S. and the Soviet Union increasingly tried to cooperate in space; Oberg opposes this teamwork for two reasons, the first being that space cooperation didn't produce the mutual understanding it was supposed to. He's on solid ground here, particularly when he discusses the communist era. But what really seems to gnaw at him is that cooperation has become NASA's major justification for space missions. As he puts it, "If the Russians aren't involved, the project shouldn't occur" is the prevailing attitude. While Oberg includes interesting information about past and future space programs, he fails to provide enough fodder to convince the non-space enthusiast that pursuing new U.S.

manned flights to the moon or even Mars is worth the time or the money.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Oberg (Uncovering Soviet Disasters: Exploring the Limits of Glasnost), a former NASA contract employee, believes that Russia (and before it the Soviet Union) has cooperated with the United States on space missions not to promote international goodwill or advance scientific research but rather to secure funding for its own space program, maintain a continued presence in the international space market, and obtain access to U.S. technology. The U.S.-Russian space partnership, which occurred in 1993 when the "Space Race" finally ended, has cost the United States billions, and return on the investment has been minimal. The author blames primarily NASA, accusing the agency of overlooking significant cultural differences that hinder cooperation between the two nations, passively accepting delayed deliveries of overpriced and possibly unsafe space equipment, ignoring the lessons learned during previous cooperative ventures, and covering up its own errors and inefficiencies. Yet, sour as he may seem, Oberg still believes that the United States and Russia could have a promising future as space partners provided both nations bring realistic expectations to the relationship. For this work of investigative journalism, Oberg had access to Russian agencies, people, and archives relating to the space program. For academic and larger public libraries. Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade; 1st edition (October 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071374256
• ISBN-13: 978-0071374255
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,817,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Drama Behind American and Russian Space Activities, December 22, 2001

By 

Gregory Bennett (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star-Crossed Orbits: Inside The U.S.-Russian Space Alliance (Hardcover)

Veterans of NASA's space programs have long regretted that the programs we work on are far more interesting than the popular news media is able to portray. We are indeed fortunate to have James Oberg to chronicle the true story of the human drama of both the United States and Russian Space Programs. Future historians will no doubt write their histories as best they can, second-guessing motivations and events through the veil of time, but Oberg has the benefit of actually being there.

Coupled with his talent for riveting prose that grabs your attention and won't let loose, Oberg's personal on-the-job experience and dedicated research bring us a portrait of how these programs began, how they evolved, and how and why it appears today that United States and Russia have forged an alliance in space. In Star-Crossed Orbits he accomplishes this daunting task without resorting to a cheap grab for drama with the exaggerated character assassination that severely mars Bryan Burrough's otherwise outstanding Dragonfly.

I would take umbrage with the unnamed Publishers Weekly reviewer, who whined that Oberg "fails to provide enough fodder to convince the non-space enthusiast that pursuing new U.S. manned flights to the moon or even Mars is worth the time or the money." He also does not give us a terrific new recipe for butterscotch pudding. This book is not a sales pitch for the United States space programs; it is an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at how we got to where we are through decades of changes in political motivations and cultures, and analysis of the pitfalls of pursuing what appears to be our current direction in our government-sponsored space programs.

Star-Crossed Orbits is essential reading for anyone interested in U.S. or Russian history, international relations, or past and future endeavors in space.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fun Reading but Incomplete, February 4, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Star-Crossed Orbits: Inside The U.S.-Russian Space Alliance (Hardcover)

Oberg's book is required reading for anyone interested in the space station and our partnership with the Russians. Chatty and informative Oberg delivers a stream of detailed revelations about problems NASA and the Russians have chose to hide. In this role he serves as one of the few "gossip columnists" of the space program.

Two key themes of the book is Oberg's observation that 1) the International Space Station was a creature of politics rather than technical necessity, and 2) NASA deliberately ignored Russian deception and fraud. However the book falters when Oberg attempts to connect the gossip with the claims. The book falls flat in helping illuminate who were the authors of this strategy (other than some vauge paragraphs) and why NASA management and Congress decided to implement and ridigly maintain it for over a decade. Some insightful analysis about why Dan Goldin and George Abbey wrapped this albatross across their neck and were never able to remove it would have made this book an agent of change.

I only wish Oberg had developed as good a set of political instincts and contacts as he has inside NASA.

4.0 out of 5 stars that's great, September 20, 2002

By 

Emma (HK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star-Crossed Orbits: Inside The U.S.-Russian Space Alliance (Hardcover)

The author, a former space engineer with Houston Mission Control for 22 years (his speciality was orbital mechanics), writes about the odd relationship that developed between the U.S. and Russian space programs after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian program, starved for funds, often at war with itself, managed to get by on a wing and a prayer (and considerable tinkering and luck), while NASA poured money into Russia, made absurd apologies for Russian screwups and missed deadlines, and covered up a lot of what went wrong on Mir and International Space Station flights. In many ways, Russia continued to behave as if the Cold War was still on: jealously guarding photocopiers, refusing to share information with American astronauts in orbit, insisting on carrying guns on every mission(!). Individually, astronauts, cosmonauts, and engineers got along famously across the borders (well, there was the sexual harassment of Western female astronauts), but political considerations repeatedly trumped safety, engineering, and other values. It's a bracing and depressing tale by an ever-hopeful science journalist.