Archive for the ‘Russia’ Category
A ground crew member checked the level of radiation near the Soyuz capsule after its landing.
Although NASA is concerned about last weekend’s rough, off-target landing of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three astronauts, an agency official expressed confidence on Tuesday that the Russians would solve the problem.
The Soyuz capsule, carrying a crew home from the International Space Station, made a steeper-than-normal re-entry early Saturday and landed in Kazakhstan about 260 miles short of its target.
Russian and American officials said the astronauts — Dr. Peggy A. Whitson of NASA; the Russian capsule commander, Col. Yuri I. Malenchenko; and a South Korean bioengineer, Yi So-yeon — had been exposed to twice the normal stresses of gravity, but were not harmed. They remain in Russia for normal postflight debriefings and examinations.
William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, told reporters Tuesday that the incident was “clearly a concern” to the agency but that it was too early to judge the impact on future space flights.
Mr. Gerstenmaier said there had been a problem with the Soyuz descent module separating as planned from a propulsion module. This was the second consecutive Soyuz re-entry with a separation problem, he said, noting that a return last October also ended in a steeper-than-normal “ballistic re-entry.”
The Soyuz has explosive bolts that are supposed to separate its three sections before the center descent module carrying the astronauts assumes a normal re-entry orientation with its heat shield down. If the other modules do not break away as planned, Mr. Gerstenmaier said, the heat and forces of re-entry are supposed to pull them apart.
If this does not happen, the descent module could be damaged or destroyed by returning through the atmosphere at the wrong angle.
Mr. Gerstenmaier cautioned against giving too much credence to initial reports out of Russia that the astronauts had been in extraordinary danger, noting that the Soyuz had been safely launched and recovered for decades and that there was “an inherent reliability in the system.”
Kosovo adopts a new constitution
Posted on: April 9, 2008
- In: Kosovo | new constitution | Pristina | Russia | Secretary General | Serbia | U.N
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Kosovo’s parliament has adopted a new constitution, almost two months after unilaterally declaring independence from Serbia.
The charter pledges to build a state protecting minorities such as the Serbs who vehemently oppose Kosovo’s split.
The text is to come into force on 15 June when the UN is due to complete a handover of powers to the new state.
In Belgrade, Serbian Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic called the charter’s adoption an “illegal act”.
The new constitution was unanimously approved at a special session of Kosovo’s parliament in Pristina on Wednesday.
‘Equal society’
President Fatmir Sejdiu said the document signalled the fledgling state’s commitment to creating an equal society.
“Serbs are the citizens of Kosovo. This constitution is also theirs,” he told reporters.
Kosovo is likely to be on the agenda in Russia’s talks with the UN’s chief
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“We want them to be an important foundation and a bridge for the future better relations with the state of Serbia.”
The move paves the way for Kosovo to take over from the UN mission which has administered the disputed territory since the end of its 1998-1999 conflict.
The EU will be helping to oversee independence with a 2,000-strong police supervisory mission in Kosovo.
Kosovo’s declaration of independence in February has been recognised by almost 40 countries, including the US and most of the EU.
But Russia has stood by its traditional ally, Serbia, in opposing the move.
The charter adoption comes as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon makes an official visit to Moscow. Kosovo is likely to be high on the talks agenda.
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