Editorials
Wednesday, September 3, 1997THE Russians can be unforgiving. Russian space officials have formally blamed the space station Mir's former crew for a nearly disastrous collision in June. The two cosmonauts, former Mir commander Vasily Tsibliyev and flight engineer Alexander Lazutkin, probably will be fined. Russians are tough
on Mir’s cosmonautsThat's not a very generous way to treat two cosmonauts who spent six months in space, but an investigatory commission concluded in what was described as a harshly critical report that they were responsible for the June 25 collision, in which a cargo ship slammed into the space station during a practice docking. The Russian media has long blamed the crew for the collision, citing anonymous sources saying that Tsibliyev failed to take into account extra weight that was on the cargo ship.
Valery Ryumin, Russian coordinator of the Mir-NASA program, would not specify what error the crew made, but said the finding was reached after a thorough examination of flight data. Ryumin added that "personally we felt pity for the boys, but the facts remain." He said the payments due the cosmonauts probably would be reduced as punishment.
Considering that the accident might have cost their lives, Tsibliyev and Lazutkin could have fared worse than a fine. Still, it seems rather harsh to punish the men after all they have been through. Would NASA have fined American astronauts under similar circumstances? We doubt it.
The new crew of the Mir, with the possible addition of American astronaut Michael Foale, are preparing for a spacewalk this weekend to attempt to repair the damage caused by the collision. The two Russians first tried to locate the damage from the collision during their Aug. 22 trip inside the depressurized Spektr module, but failed to find any holes. However, they succeeded in reattaching power cables that helped restore the Mir's energy supply.
Even if the repair efforts succeed, the future of the Mir will remain in doubt. It still seems that it would be tempting fate to continue to use the aging space station, which has exceeded its expected life. It's time for the U.S. to focus on building one of our own.
FREELANCE celebrity photographers strive to be at the right place at the right time for the million-dollar picture. But the reverse can be devastating, as they learned at the scene of the tragic car accident that killed Princess Diana, her lover, Dodi Fayed, and driver, Henri Paul. By the time it became obvious that this was a case of drunken driving, public outrage over the renegade band of photographers known as paparazzi had gone too far to be reversed. Causes of the crash
The photographers have been held responsible by many for the death of a beloved princess, and their pursuit of the car almost certainly was a contributing factor. But the driver's drunken condition was equally if not more responsible.
IN its final form, the immigration bill signed into law by President Clinton last year dealt mainly with illegal immigration. However, it did expand the list of crimes that make legal immigrants deportable by adding stalking, domestic violence and child abuse. In the past only such major felonies as murder and assault were deportable offenses. More deportations
The overwhelming majority of immigrants are law-abiding contributors to society. But most people, understandably, don't want to let criminals stay in the country. Deporting more of the criminals among the immigrants might actually help the ones who respect the law to become accepted by Americans.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
