Dec 25 1997
From The Space Library
The Russian Space Agency paid cosmonauts Vasili V. Tsibliyev and Alexander I. Lazutkin belated bonuses for their six-month Mir mission, payments that Russia had withheld until investigators had determined the two men's roles during the troubled mission, which included the crash of a robotic cargo craft into Mir. S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia), the company that built Mir, had blamed Tsibliyev and Lazutkin, suggesting that Russia deny the two cosmonauts their salaries. However, once the Russian government had determined that human error had been only one among many causes of the crash, RSC Energia's President Yuri P. Semyonov had retracted the company's demand that Russia punish the cosmonauts and had supported their right to receive payment. Tsibliyev received about US$100,000 and Lazutkin about US$80,000. Both men had expressed dismay at the negative reception they had received upon returning to Earth after the difficult mission.
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