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

by James E. Oberg (Author), James Oberg (Author)

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.

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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: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,934,182 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Drama Behind American and Russian Space Activities, December 23, 2001

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

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

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.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Try an <amazon.com> Deal of Lou Dobbs & James Oberg Combo!, December 18, 2001

By	J. A. Heaton (SLC, UT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Oberg's update is a "red-neck version" of US space history. By his own self-description, he is a 'hawk' on domestic space programs, and is thus fearful (perhaps: xenophoic?) when other nations actual 'do space work'! I've got news for him: That is precisely the future of spaceflight!

This is an attitude which should have gotten behind us in October, 1957 when Sputniks I and II were orbited - but it took Nixon Administration's inspired "Apollo-Soyuz/Soyuz Apollo Test Project" link-up during July, 1975 (when Mr. Nixon was out of presidential office) to make one small step toward international cooperation in manned spaceflight!

The International Space Station is a potential major step in that direction, while undergoing 'bean-counter scrutiny' from the combined European Space Agency nations and a new NASA Administrator, Sean O'Keefe.

Seven years ago, the US had an opportunity to grab a unique corner on the future of commercial space flight worldwide. Then the lawyers got hold of former US Cong. Andrea Seastrand's prescient "Highway to Space" legislation & wrestled away control of our financial futures from aerospace engineers! During the interim, multi-national consortia have taken to the commercial space arena and are financially succeeding.

I highly recommend <amazon.com> combine Oberg's latest volume with Lou Dobbs' "Space: The Next Business Frontier" for a complete package of recent history and forecast developments. Individually, each book is a 'four-star' rating in my view.

Combined synergistically, however, they represent a full 'five star rating'!