Jun 16 2000
From The Space Library
After spending more than two months aboard the Mir space station, Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth. According to MirCorp, the mission had been the first privately funded crewed mission to Mir. Sergei V. Zalyotin and Alexander Y. Kaleri landed safely in Kazakhstan, having spent most of their time aboard the Russian spacecraft conducting crucial repairs. To keep the station running, MirCorp had signed a lease agreement for Mir and paid for the mission. However, with the return of Zalyotin and Kaleri, Russia placed on hold the prospect of continuing Mir, even if supported with private funds. "If there is no money, Mir will not fly," Russian Space Agency Director General Yuri N. Koptev stated at the end of the mission. Russian officials indicated that the Russian Space Agency would leave the space station unpiloted once again, until private investors could fund another mission. The continuing focus on Mir, while the building of Russia's ISS module ran far behind schedule, agitated some NASA officials and international space leaders.
NASA and the Boeing Company announced an agreement to use Boeing's Delta Launch Services Inc. for a variety of NASA missions. The contract, estimated to be worth at least US$168 million, included options to extend the agreement. NASA also awarded both Boeing and Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services Inc. indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contracts for 10 years. The agreements solidified NASA's partnerships with the two major aerospace companies. A NASA spokesperson clarified the reasons for the extension of the relationships, saying that Boeing and Lockheed "were selected based on their ability to meet NASA's highly critical future mission requirements and their proven track records for providing a quality product." At the time of the agreement with Boeing, the company had flown 82 missions for NASA with a success rate of 98 percent.
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