Russia, U.S. Pursue Military Space Collaboration

Published: Apr 25, 2006
Source: www.defensenews.com



A senior U.S. defense official visited Russia earlier this month in hopes of fostering military space collaboration between the two countries.

The trip by Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, was aimed at establishing cooperation in areas such as tracking objects in space, according to a written response to questions provided by Air Force Maj. Jeff Jones, a spokesman for Strategic Command, Omaha, Neb.

Cartwright and his Russian counterparts also agreed to examine an exchange program for launch support officers, according to the statement.

Joint work on keeping tabs on objects in orbit could help improve U.S. and Russian capabilities in this area and ease tensions about what each country is doing in space, said Theresa Hitchens, director of the Center for Defense Information, a Washington think tank.continue..