The Dynamics of Intimacy in Long-Duration Multinational Outer Space Missions
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ISSN: 2158-7051 ==================== INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RUSSIAN STUDIES ==================== ISSUE NO. 9 ( 2020/1 ) LIVING AND SURVIVING WITH ENEMIES: THE DYNAMICS OF INTIMACY IN LONG-DURATION MULTINATIONAL OUTER SPACE MISSIONS LIKA RODIN* Summary Outer space exploration is typically considered in the context of geopolitical militarized competition, a phenomenon known as the ‘space race’. Less attention has been given to partnership projects between the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States – the central space race antagonists – that had already begun in the 1970s with the short-term Soyuz/Apollo initiative and continued in the 1990s via collaboration around long-duration space missions. The current study focuses on the Russian-American Mir/Shuttle program (1994–1998). With the help of critical discourse analysis, I examine the experiences and representations of interpersonal interactions that emerged in the framework of the Mir/Shuttle program, looking at the ways in which dominant value systems, the materiality of organizational structures and the embodied sense of existential vulnerability might shape the space flyer’s perception of the objectives, realities and outcomes of this cross-national collaboration. Key Words: Domination, Mir/Shuttle Program, vulnerability, othering, ideology. Introduction In academic and public discussions, outer space exploration has been frequently considered in the context of geopolitical militarized competition, a phenomenon known as the ‘space race’ (e.g. Brzezinski, 2007; Catbury, 2006; Cernan and Davis, 1999. Less attention has been given to the International Journal of Russian Studies, No. 9/1 ( January 2020 ) 38 partnership projects between the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States – the central space race antagonists – that had already begun in the 1970s with the short-term Soyuz/Apollo initiative, followed by collaboration around missions to the Soviet/Russian low-orbit space station Mir in the late 1990s. Nowadays, the experiences and ‘lessons learned’ from these partnerships by national space agencies and space flyers are in high demand for the construction and operation of the International Space Station (ISS; Nied and Vorobiev, 1999) as well as for the general perspective of international political stability. While the plurality of technological insights, including the core module of Mir, were successfully employed in the ISS project, a number of questions around organizational and social-psychological aspects of long-duration multinational space missions still remain unanswered (Harris, 2009; Kanas, 2011; Kanas and Manzey, 2008). The existing body of research on collaborative long-term spaceflight is 1) relatively limited and 2) shaped by a specific paradigm. Two disciplines seem to dominate the analysis of cooperative space enterprise: behaviour sciences and history. Other academic fields – including law, international management, cultural studies and sociology – have been less salient on the topic in focus, while contributing to the examination of other extraterrestrial activities and phenomena.[1] Behaviour disciplines (i.e. classical applied psychology) are primarily concerned with the individual cognition of space flyers and the micro-level in-flight social interactions in regard to behavioural health and productivity. The focus is on the analysis of risk factors (both environmental and mental) and on the development of effective risk management techniques that are capable of securing the crew’s work performance (Kanas and Manzey, 2008; Kanas et al., 2000; Kanas et al., 2001; Kanas et al., 2006; Morphew, 2001; Palinkas, 2001; Sandal et al., 2007). Group heterogeneous composition is considered to be among the possible stressors that must already be addressed at the pre-flight stage in terms of acquisition of language and cultural knowledge and by joint training of the crew (Harrison, 2001; Suedfeld, Wilk and Cassel, 2011; Draguns and Harrison, 2011). Mezzo-level analysis frequently remains narrowly addressed by space psychology and is predominately framed by the essentialist concept of organizational culture (Harrison, 2001). Historical studies open up to the micro-macro perspective by looking at the ways in which national ideology and political conditions might shape experiences of individuals engaged in the space enterprise (Gerovich, 2011, 2014; Morgan, 2013). The knowledge accumulated through US-based historical studies have helped to deconstruct ‘Soviet space mythology’ (Gerovich, 2015) and to account for its negative effects. Although these critical studies produced a relatively detailed and coherent picture of the Russian political context and ideology, they rendered invisible the American perspective. The one-sided representation and language of political dichotomy is present in British space research as well, viewing international outer space projects as merely acts of ‘political propaganda’ emanating from the Russian side (Hall, Shayler and Bert, 2005, p. 216). The purpose of this study is to make discernible and examine the particular value systems manifested during the Mir/Shuttle collaboration program (1994–1998), a project that allowed the accommodation of experienced American flyers aboard the Russian orbital complex Mir for 4-5 months as well as the participation of Russian cosmonauts in Shuttle flights. The study seeks a better understanding of why this partnership, despite its many obstacles, became possible. An autobiography of Jerry Linenger, an astronaut who served on the Mir during its most challenging period, is subjected to critical discourse analysis. In this regard, I analyse the experiences and representations of interpersonal interactions that emerged in the framework of the Mir/Shuttle program, looking at factors that might shape the flyer’s perception of the objectives, realities and outcomes of the cross-national collaboration. The paper consists of five parts. I will briefly present the history and scope of the Mir/Shuttle program, followed by a theoretical and methodological International Journal of Russian Studies, No. 9/1 ( January 2020 ) 39 framework of the study. After that, the results of the analysis will be presented and discussed. Mir/Shuttle Program Already in early 1960s Russian and American governments launched attempts of cross- national collaboration, which progressively led to the short-term Soyuz-Apollo program in 1975 and eventually, in 1993, to a Joint Statement on Cooperation in Space, widening the framework for staff exchange and coordinated Russian-American space missions. In particular, it was agreed that the Russian space station Mir would be visited by American astronauts, which required ten dockings of the American Shuttle with the orbital complex. The central goal was to consolidate knowledge and technological innovations for the already planned project at that time – the International Space Station [National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2013a]. Specifically, the American side hoped to benefit from the Russian experience with long-duration space missions. Moreover, a workable methodology of international cooperation was needed (NASA 2013b), even though both Russians and Americans were already used to launching international crews.[2] Between 1994 and 1998, seven American astronauts (a scientist, engineers and a pilot) underwent extensive training in Star City, Russia, and were hosted aboard Mir for a period of 4-5 months each. At the same time, a NASA specialist team and a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) were accommodated at the Mission Control Centre near Moscow to engage in regular contact with the American crew members. The majority of the astronauts were brought to the space station and taken back to Earth on the Space Shuttle. The modular space station Mir started low-orbit operation in 1986, and for nearly 15 years was almost continuously inhabited by national and international crews (Energia, n.d.). It consisted of six units, including a core operational module, supplementary models, laboratories and two docking ports. Space flyers and cargo (e.g. water, food resupply, scientific equipment) were delivered to the station by Russian and American space vehicles. Water recovery and oxygen regeneration systems installed on board helped in sustaining a liveable habitat. During the Mir/Shuttle program, the orbital complex, initially planned for an up to 5-year period of operation, started to age. At some point, technical failures followed one after another, sparking hot debates in the United States about the safety and feasibility of the American presence on Mir (Freeman, 2000). Jerry Linenger was one of two astronauts (increments 4 and 5) who witnessed the most challenging times in the history of the orbital complex. He arrived on Mir in January 1997 with the STS-81 Shuttle flight and became a member of the 22nd Mir mission crew (along with Russian cosmonauts Valeri Korzun and Alexander Kaleri); later on, Korzun and Kaleri were relieved by the Mir-23 crew (Vasily Tsibliev and Aleksandr Lazutkin), with whom Linenger continued to the end of his assignment in May 1997 (HSF NASA, 2013). Large-scale technological troubles on Mir started in late winter 1997. In February, a fire incident erupted on the station due to an oxygen canister malfunction. The fire lasted 10 minutes and generated thick smoke, which forced the crew to wear full-face masks for several hours until the atmosphere within the station was normalized by conditioners. In March, a crash nearly occurred with the resupply ship