Aug 9 1997
From The Space Library
As the two cosmonauts worked to repair the failing Mir space station, President Boris N. Yeltsin allowed the Russian government to borrow US$ 100 million from foreign banks, giving the Russian Space Agency an infusion of capital. Yeltsin announced the decision after touring the construction facilities where Russia planned to build its contributions to the ISS. The Russian Space Agency's cash-flow problems had resulted in construction delays and failure to meet deadlines, postponing the completion of the entire ISS.
After widespread speculation concerning the possibility of an indefinite delay of the Cassini Mission to Saturn, NASA announced that it would be able to repair a fuel leak in the spacecraft in time to meet an October 1997 launch date. NASA had enlisted U.S. Air Force engineers to make the repairs. The spacecraft's need for repairs increased the tension surrounding the ambitious and expensive mission. Lieutenant Ken Hoffman of the U.S. Air Force, who supervised the repairs, attempted to reassure the public that the problem was "a correctable condition." Nevertheless, opponents of the mission-particularly those opposed to the spacecraft's use of radioactive plutonium worried that the rocket's launch might release hazardous materials. Michio Kaku, a City University of New York physics professor, said that, despite NASA's announcement that it could quickly correct the problem, the leak was "just one more indication that NASA does not have things under control."
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