Boeing announced that it went nearly $200 million over on some of its work for the International Space Station, while the status of Russian funding for its share of the station continues to be uncertain.
     NASA announced March 4 that Boeing had gone $196 million over budget on its work for the central node for the space station, billing NASA nearly $3.65 billion for work that had been budgeted to cost $3.45 billion.
     NASA administrator Dan Goldin reportedly called Boeing's performance on the station "less than stellar" and contacted Boeing chief Phil Condit to express his disappointment.
     The cost overrun will be absorbed by budget reserves for the project and is not expected to increase the overall cost of the space station.
     Meanwhile, despite action by the Russian government in late February to approve funds for the cash-strapped Russian Space Agency, no sign of money has reached the agency or the companies contracted to build key modules for the station.
     Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed a budget February 25 which included 3.9 trillion rubles (approx. $700 million) for the Russian Space Agency, plus 1.5 trillion rubles (approx. $270 million) in loan guarantees for the station project.
     There has been no evidence, though, that funds have actually been transferred to the agency or the contractors.
     At a Congressional hearing last week, members of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee expressed their concern about the lack of Russian funding, and feared Russian officials might turn to "disreputable" banks, with ties to organized crime, to obtain money to continue the project.

The European Space Agency will provide two docking modules, including one new previously-unplanned one, for the International Space Station in exchange for the American launch of a European module, NASA and ESA announced March 10.
     Under the agreement, ESA will provide two docking nodes, named Nodes 2 and 3, for the space station. In exchange, NASA will launch the European-built Columbus Orbital Facility (COF) on a shuttle mission in 2002 or 2003.
     Node 2, scheduled for launch in mid-2000, will provide connections among several space station modules, including the America, European, and Japanese lab modules. Node 3 will attach to the habitation module and provide space for future modules to be added to the station.
     Both Nodes 2 and 3 will be built by the Italian space agency, as part of an internal agreement within ESA to reduce Italy's deficit in "fair industrial return" within the agency.
     In addition to the nodes, ESA will provide miscellaneous hardware for the station, including a refrigerator/freezer for the habitation module and a cryogenic freezer for a lab module.
     The agreement scraps plans to convert Node 1, a structural test article built by Boeing at the Marshall Space Flight Center, into Node 2.
     "With this solution, everyone gains," said ESA official Jorg Feustel-Buechl. "NASA will get the important equipment that it was seeking, delivered quickly and on time. ESA will get a Shuttle launch for its COF. And the Space Station will move one step closer to becoming a reality."

Several Florida residents claimed the January explosion of a Delta II rocket shortly after launch damages their homes, requiring the Air Force to conduct further investigations into the explosion.
     Residents of at least four homes, including one more than 30 km (18 mi.) away from the launch site, have filed claims stating that the January 17 explosion damaged their homes.
     The damage reported is minor, ranging from windows broken by the sound of the explosion to holes in roofs caused by debris.
     Air Force officials believe it's unlikely that any damage to homes can be linked to the explosion, but continues to investigate the claims.
     Meanwhile, the Air Force estimates repairs to the launch site damaged in the explosion will cost up to $50 million. A number of buildings and trailers near the launch pad, as well as other facilities, were damaged or destroyed by falling debris.
     The Air Force is continuing to investigate the explosion, and has released few details on the report to date. One official said that it is likely that the next Delta launch from Cape Canaveral will take place by this June, although earlier Delta launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base are possible.

Lockheed Martin is calling on the U.S. government to allow more launches of commercial Western payloads using Russian Proton rockets, Space News reported.
     The American aerospace firm, which is in a partnership with two Russian firms to market the Proton, has asked the U.S. government not to include in current limits commercial Proton launches that carry satellites too heavy to be launched by existing American boosters.
     Under an existing agreement between Russia and the U.S., Russia can launch up to 20 U.S.-built satellites to geostationary orbit through the year 2000. Lockheed Martin is asking the U.S. not to include payloads which weigh more than 4,090 kg (9,000 lbs.) under that agreement, since no American booster is capable of placing that heavy a satellite into geostationary orbit.
     No immediate action has been taken by the U.S. or Russia in response to Lockheed Martin's request. The two countries will likely discuss the proposal over the next two months. The agreement between them on launch quotas can be amended by mutual agreement.
     The Proton rocket, which to date has launched one U.S.-built satellite, is marketed in the West by International Launch Services (ILS) of San Diego. ILS is jointly owned by Lockheed Martin and Lockheed-Khrunichev-Energia, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and two Russian aerospace firms.
     ILS says it plans to launch seven commercial payloads in 1997 and eight in 1998.