Future international cooperation on space stations

Abstract

In the course of the next thirty years, extensive international cooperation in space may become the norm rather than the exception. The benefits from the mutual application and exchange of assets and knowledge may enable the development of projects that no nation could afford alone. Cooperation on technical projects may also yield political benefits such as alliance building, although potentially at a cost of making the program hostage to the vagaries of international politics. Successful past cooperative projects include the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Spacelab and Soviet Salyut and Mir space stations. The ongoing Space Station Freedom program is offering the first sustained long term opportunity for international cooperation in space. In addition to enabling potential advances in science and technology development, the station may serve as the stepping stone for future international efforts in areas such as planetary exploration. Any significant future increase in international cooperation would likely need to include both the United States and the Soviet Union. Such cooperation could offer many unique possibilities, including interactions between the Freedom and Mir. Indeed the success of future manned exploration missions may well depend on how well space-faring nations learn to cooperate with each other. International involvement in technical programs always creates an additional element of complexity regarding the technical requirements and resource management of a project. However, the experience of international cooperation to date tells us that there can be significant gains, both tangible and symbolic, from international participation.