Debra Rahn                                                                                                
July 9, 1992
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/358-1639)

RELEASE:  92-106

GOLDIN AND DAILEY LEAD INTERAGENCY DELEGATION TO GERMANY AND 
RUSSIA

     NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and National Space 
Council Executive Secretary Brian Dailey today will lead an 
interagency delegation to Germany to visit the European Space 
Operations Center, then to Moscow to gain a first hand 
understanding of Russia's space program.

     Plans for the delegation's trip to Russia follow discussions 
between Vice President Dan Quayle and Russian President Boris 
Yeltsin, during his recent visit to Washington, D.C.

     The delegation leaves Washington this afternoon and returns 
July 17.

European Space Operations Center

     This Friday, July 10, the delegation will participate in a 
ceremony to mark the expected encounter of Giotto, an European 
Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft, with the comet Grigg-Skjellerup.

     In 1986, Giotto returned to Earth excellent images of 
Halley's comet during its rendezvous with Earth.  While Giotto's 
camera was damaged in the encounter, ESA devised a procedure to 
continue its science-gathering capability and steered it toward 
Grigg-Skjellerup, a comet located 134 million miles from Earth.

     The ceremony, hosted by ESA Director General Jean-Marie 
Luton, will take place at the European Space Operation Center in 
Darmstadt, Germany.

     The delegation will also meet with Luton to discuss joint 
programs.  NASA has extensive cooperative agreements with 
European national space programs, including Space Station 
Freedom, the U.S.-French Topex-Poseidon oceanographic mission 
scheduled for launch in August, the U.S.-Italian Tethered 
Satellite mission and ESA's EURECA spacecraft on the next Space 
Shuttle and the German D-2 Spacelab.

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Russian Visit

     On Saturday, July 11, the delegation travels to Moscow to 
begin several days of meeting with key Russian space officials.  
The delegation will also tour facilities in the area that are 
involved in human and robotic space activities, including NPO 
Energia, NPO Energomash, Khurnichev, KP Salyut, Babakhin, 
Lavotchkin, NPO Zvezda and Star City.

     "The primary importance of the trip to Moscow is to get a 
first hand look at the Russian space program and to begin the 
process of building a long term relationship," Goldin said.

     "I believe that it is important, that as we build this 
partnership with Russia, we provide opportunities for U.S. 
industry.  Clearly a strong partnership exists between our 
nation, Canada, Europe and Japan.  This partnership was builtover 
decades of mutual cooperation and trust.  The time has come to 
begin to develop similar bonds with Russia," Goldin added.



Russian Space Agreement

     On June 18, Goldin and Yuri Koptev, Director General of the 
Russian Space Agency, ratified the first contract between NASA 
and a Russian aerospace firm, 
NPO Energia, to study the possible use of the Soyuz TM as an 
emergency interim spacecraft for Space Station Freedom.

     The contract also includes funding to examine the Russian 
automated rendezvous and docking system known as APAS and the 
possible use of the MIR space station for life science 
experiments.

     The formal ratification of the contract concluded three 
months of technical meetings and negotiations between NASA and 
NPO Energia.

                             -end-