VZCZCXRO2132 
OO RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHVK RUEHYG 
DE RUEHMO #1604/01 1571357 
ZNR UUUUU ZZH 
O 051357Z JUN 08 
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8434 
INFO RUEANAT/NASA WASHDC 
RUEHZN/EST COLLECTIVE 
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 2854 
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 3197

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 001604 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/PRA, OES/SAT 
 
NASA FOR O'BRIEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TSPA PREL OREP RS
SUBJECT: CODEL ROHRABACHER EXPLORES FUTURE PATHS OF U.S.-RUSSIAN 
SPACE COOPERATION 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher discussed potential 
areas of U.S.-Russian space cooperation with Russian officials in 
Moscow May 30 to June 2. The Russians were receptive to the 
Congressman's proposals for a joint mission to the Moon. Energiya 
Space Corporation President Vitaliy Lopota suggested a joint mission 
to Mars instead of the Moon, and Rohrabacher agreed to study the 
costs and risks of such an endeavor. Russian officials shared the 
Congressman's concerns about the need to establish an international 
partnership to track, detect and divert "Near-Earth Objects" such as 
meteorites, asteroids and comets, from collisions with the Earth. 
Russian officials also raised with the Congressman the draft 
Framework Technology Safeguards Agreement, the Sea Launch program, 
and the use of the Soyuz spacecraft for travel to the International 
Space Station. END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------- 
Planning a Moon Mission 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Congressman Rohrabacher discussed U.S. plans to establish a 
manned base on the Moon in separate meetings with Energiya Space 
Corporation President Vitaliy Lopota and Sergey Shishkarev, Chairman 
of the Duma Transport Committee and head of the Parliamentary 
Working Group on Aviation and Space. Noting that Russia had been a 
reliable and trustworthy lead partner on the International Space 
Station (ISS), Rohrabacher invited Russia to join the United States 
in establishing a joint base on the Moon. While the United States 
and Russia should play the lead role, other governments, such as the 
EU, could also participate in such an endeavor. Rohrabacher warned 
that China had its own Moon ambitions that were not necessarily in 
either Russia's or the United States' interests. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Shishkarev agreed the United States and Russia should join 
forces for a Moon base, given the complexities of such an endeavor 
and the synergies that could be achieved by a meaningful 
partnership. Shishkarev noted that the partnership would need 
high-level political support on both sides to be successful. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Rather than a moon mission, Energiya President Lopota felt 
that the United States and Russia could more effectively work 
together on a joint manned mission to Mars. Lopota proposed 
establishing within the next 15 years a manned orbiting presence 
around the Red Planet and robotic exploration of the surface. In 
Lopota's view, a Mars mission would be a more significant step 
forward in space science and exploration than establishing a manned 
Moon presence. After a manned Mars orbiting presence was 
established, Lopota suggested that the United States and Russia 
could plan a mission to the Moon from Mars. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Rohrabacher stated that he would discuss a potential 
U.S.-Russian Moon partnership further with NASA Administrator 
Michael Griffin. He also said he would ask NASA to prepare a cost 
and risk assessment of a joint Mars mission and see how that 
cost-benefit analysis compared with a Moon mission. 
 
------------------ 
Near-Earth Objects 
------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Rohrabacher proposed establishing an international 
partnership, led by the United States, Russia and possibly the EU, 
to detect and track "Near-Earth Objects" (e.g., asteroids, 
meteorites and comets), and to establish means for preventing 
collisions with the Earth. Both Lopota and Shishkarev welcomed such 
a partnership. Lopota shared the Congressman's concerns about the 
potentially devastating damage that such objects could inflict, 
noting the 1908 Tunguska comet impact in Siberia and the large 
asteroid that recently passed undetected between the Earth and Moon. 
The Russians also welcomed Rohrabacher's suggestions to work toward 
an international agreement on this subject and to hold an 
international conference in California, possibly on the margins of 
an already planned conference on space navigation at the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena December 8-14, 2008. 
 
------------------------------- 
Technology Safeguards Agreement 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) During the meeting with Duma Deputy Shishkarev, Roscosmos 
Federal Space Agency International Department Deputy Director Sergey 
Rybkin passed a copy of the June 2007 draft Framework Technology 
Safeguards Agreement to Rohrabacher (FTSA). Rybkin noted that 
Roscosmos Director Anatoliy Perminov had discussed the FTSA with 
Rohrabacher on the margins of the Berlin Air Show on May 28. The 
Russians do not understand why the United States is proposing that 
the agreement only cover commercial, non-government spacecraft, 
launch vehicles and components. In Rybkin's view, the agreement's 
scope should be broad enough to cover the ISS and other government 
technology. Rohrabacher said he would look into the question of the 
FTSA's coverage when he returned to Washington. 
 
-------------------- 
Soyuz and Sea Launch 
-------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Lopota briefed Rohrabacher on the safety and reliability of 
the Soyuz spacecraft for manned transport to and from the ISS. 
Lopota said the recent so-called "ballistic" return landings in 
Kazakhstan had been mischaracterized in the press. He noted that 
only four of the Soyuz's 122 flights had used a "ballistic" descent. 
Rohrabacher said his faith in the Soyuz's reliability had not been 
shaken, given the positive track record. Rohrabacher also discussed 
Sea Launch with Lopota and thanked Energiya for making the program a 
success. Rohrabcher invited Lopota to visit him during Lopota's 
next scheduled visit to Sea Launch's home port in Long Beach. 
 
RUSSELL