Americans sabatoging Space Station?

The Russians seem to suspect so:

abcnews.go.com...

This is no doubt typical Russian blame gaming, but it's no secret that the U.S. sees the station as a drain on resources that yields little results in science but provides the Russians with a cash cow from NASA paying for Progress and Soyuz launches.

A secret plan to disable the thing would allow the Bush "Vision for Space Exploration" a boost in funds with the early retirement of the Shuttle and shifting of resources to future projects.

Sounds like somebody needs to chack and make sure that their oxygen supply is working and they are not suffering from hypoxia.

Nowhere in that article does it say anything remotely similar to the Russians accusing the United States of sabotage.

right, they don't say sabotage, but...

After working for a couple of days, the Russians still have no idea what the problem is, and they are pointing the finger at the Americans. They say that setting up the solar array sent electromagnetic interference into the computer, shutting it down.

Originally posted by elevatedone
right, they don't say sabotage, but...

After working for a couple of days, the Russians still have no idea what the problem is, and they are pointing the finger at the Americans. They say that setting up the solar array sent electromagnetic interference into the computer, shutting it down.

Sounds like a couple of kids. "I didn't do it! He did it!" Of course we all know that Russian equipment is perfect. There are many people on ATS who proclaim that all of the time. Must have been that American crap. How about they find the problem and then assess blame?

Yeah, they're saying that something the Americans did could have caused the problem. Not accusing them of sabotage, just of stupidity.

Originally posted by Johnmike
Yeah, they're saying that something the Americans did could have caused the problem. Not accusing them of sabotage, just of stupidity.

Yes but is there really any difference?

The Russians are able to jerry-rig a solar panel, but the Americans are unable to figure out whats going on with a space shuttle?

How long have we been going to space? Over 50 years and no real progress. We should be flying around the Andromeda galaxy by now.

Get a grip NASA.

Fund something worthwhile and let us use it.

Darn bureaucrats.

What exactly are we doing up there anyway? I never here of anything really beneficial or exciting. Just doesnt make sense to me, ive been waiting and waiting but its all still boring. All these silly experiments why?
What have they really accomplished that justifies all the money spent?
Lets just go to mars already.

^
^^ They are learning first hand how to build extra-terrestial habitats, and also learning the procedures needed for a human to thrive in space for extended periods of time. Those are two of the most important things we need to know before sending humans to Mars.

I suppose we could have sent people to Mars by now in an Apollo-style mission (get there, plant a flag, walk around, collect some rocks, leave) but that would be almost meaningless. For a Mars mission to be meaningful, we will need to send several people for an extended period of time, and set up habitats for them to live during that extended period. That's exactly the type of stuff we are learning to do on the space station (and on the moon in the next decade). I'm sorry if it isn't glamourous enough for you.

Originally posted by aaaaa
The Russians seem to suspect so:

That's a diversionary tactic. Everyone even remotely connected with the space program knows that the Russian hardware is crap. It doesn't run well. It's loud. It even stinks ... literally.

The Russians are trying to throw people off from pointing their fingers at their crap hardware.