ABSTRACT
Barsukov emphasized that, "for the first time in the history of space exploration carried out by the Soviet Union, two years have gone by and the people have not had any officially approved program". The project provides for a Soviet cosmonaut to be in the crew of the US reusable shuttle spacecraft while an American astronaut will join the crew of the Soviet spaceship "Soyuz" and will subsequently work for four to six months on board the station "Mir". The authors of the program believe that such modification will, on the one hand, raise the economic exploitation of the rocket by burning out the remaining fuel and, on the other hand, increase its power. In conclusion, the future of space exploration under conditions of the disintegration of the USSR depends to large extent on the willingness of the newly independent republics to retain a common economic area.
