 C00175494
 CLAS UNCLASSIFIED
 CLAS UNCLASSIFIED
 AFSN OV0710144692C
 DDAT 921001
 SLIN Moscow Central Television First Program and Orbita Networks in Russian
 1945 GMT 1 Oct 92
 AUTH Mikhail Solntsev from the "Utro" program -- live
 SUBS [Studio interview with Major General Yuriy Grigoriyevich Gusev, deputy
 commander of the Russian Ministry of Defense Space Units, by Mikhail
 Solntsev from the "Utro" program -- live
 SUBJ TAKEALL-- Deputy Ministry Chief on Space Program
 Full Text Superzone of Message
 1     ]
 2     [Text] [Solntsev] Good morning once again to all our viewers, and I have
 great pleasure in introducing our "Utro" program studio guest, Major
 General Yuriy Grigoriyevich Gusev, deputy commander of the Russian
 Ministry of Defense Space Units.  Yuriy Grigoriyevich, first of all,
 please satisfy our viewers and my curiosity as to what are these
 mysterious space units, or are they not all that mysterious?
 3    [Gusev] Good morning.  They are not so mysterious, seeing how much is
 written and talked about space today, and space activity remains the topic
 of discussion in Russia as well as in countries of the Commonwealth of
 Independent States.  There are a number of agreements on space activity
 wherein space units are involved.  Therefore, space units are not such a
 Terra Incognita [unknown land], as they say, and they are at space
 centers, control centers, landing sites, and so on.  That is, all the
 elements of the ground infrastructure which ensures the launch,--and
 operation of the space equipment during flight.
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 4     [Solntsev] Well the name space units itself conjures up visions of Star
 Wars, and space invaders; you are not going to do battle with space
 invaders, are you?
 5     [Gusev laughing] Well, if there are such, we will first investigate who
 they are.  However, in principle, space units are units which ensure the
 operations of the orbital group [orbitalnoy grupirovki] which resolve the
 problems of providing the armed forces with various forms of provisions,
 including navigational, cartographic, geodesic, communications, control,
 and so on.  That is, that whole spectrum of tasks which today, in line
 with modern military concepts and modern armies, are solved more
 effectively by space resources, and which frequently simply cannot be
 solved in other ways.
 6     [Solntsev] Tell us Yuriy Grigoriyevich, at the source of our space rocket
 program, as is probably in all other countries which conduct launches,
 there were military people, and this was primarily a military program.
 Today however, if we consider the relationship of scientific or civilian
 launches, and launches in the interests of the military, how do they
 correlate?
 7    [Gusev] You are correct when you say that historically, the creation of
 space centers, and the first launches were carried out by the military.
 True, but here it must be stipulated that it was always with the
 participation of industry.  Today, thw?e?wrw&w??interests of defense, as
 well as the national economy, science, and international cooperation.
 Today's correlation is approximately 30 to 40 percent are civilian
 launches, and about 50 to 60 percent, military.  By the beginning of 1995
 or 1996, -- and this tendency exists, and it is confirmed -- the number of.
 launches in the interest of the national economy and defense, will be
 approximately equal, with an ongoing growth nevertheless, favoring
 civilian launches.
 8     [Solntsev] At present, there is quite a lot of talk that we have taken a
 very spineless position in our military doctrine by giving ground to our,
 let us say, potential enemies by not being sufficiently in opposition to
 them, and in general, surrendering our position.  As far as satellites,
 intelligence satellites are concerned, who has more in space, we, NATO or
 the United States?
 9     [Gusev] I think that at present, NATO has the greatest number of
 intelligence satellites.
 10    [Solntsev] This speaks of our weakness?
 11    [Gusev] Not weakness necessarily.  These are the missions that they set
 for their space units, or as the Americans call it, Space Command.  But,
 in fact, if we count what there is in orbit out there, then it will be
 clear that the NATO group, including the United States, have more.
 12    [Solntsev] More eh!  Well, there is talk that it is possible, for
 instance, to steal an enemy's, or a likely enemy's, spy satellite from
 orbit.  Is that possible?
 13    [Gusev] Well, it is possible, in principle.  Of course, I doubt if we
 would steal a satellite today just like that.  However, the shuttle
 operations, and our maintenance work on the orbiting station show, in
 principle, that it possible to come near, to approach.the satellite and
 load it into the compartment.  True, if anyone has attentively watched the
 telecasts of the flight of the orbiting station, or the shuttle, or when
 they show the space apparatus, it is obvious that they bristle with
 various kinds of antennae and various kinds of instruments, that is why
 one would have to prepare extremely carefully for such an act.
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 15    [Text] [Solntsev] Today is 2 October, and in two days it will be the 35th
 anniversary -- not quite an even one, but an anniversary nevertheless --
 of the launch of the first artificial satellite from earth, which was
 built in the then USSR.
 16    [Gusev] Yes, 35 years ago, the first artificial satellite was launched
 from the present Baykonur Space Center, the PS, the simplest satellite
 (prosteyshiy sputnik], which began the space era for mankind.  [Video
 shows an excerpt from an archive film of the first sputnik launch]
 17    Today, hardly anyone remembers it.  I do not mean Russia, but the world,
 and specifically at the last symposium in which the International
 Astronautical Federation, the International Space Academy, and various
 other organizations participated, this fact somehow escaped the attention
 of the world community.
 18    [Solntsev] When the first launches began, first the satellites and then
 the manned space launches, there was quite obvious competition between the
 United States and the USSR as to who was faster, who was quicker.  Later,
 it seems, we fell behind, or do you not consider that we have?
 19    [Gusev] Yes, there really was such competition, and recently, literally
 yesterday, a unique film was shown on how the Americans planned the first
 manned Mercury flights, and there one could really see that the spirit of
 competition existed.  But then, due to various circumstances, we fell
 behind primarily in finer technologies, specifically, in the element base,
 optics, and electronics.  Here, our parameters were somewhat lower, I mean
 from the point of view of service life, and dependability.  But
 nevertheless, in the final analysis it turned out that the Russian space
 program was not that far behind the United States for example, and in some
 instances, it even excelled.  However, in the number of problems to be
 solved, and by the quality of their solution, today one most probably must
 say that, the realization of problem solving is approximately the same.
 20   [Solntsev] I have one more question.  There are many reports and much talk
 that the Plesetsk space center -- the northern space center -- will be
 used for manned launches.  Is this so, and when could this come about?
 21   (Gusev] The northern space center, Plesetsk, could be used for manned
 launches, but first, the space center needs some work. And second, to be
 able to carry out a manned program from the Plesetsk space center, we need
 to change the orbital position of the station correspondingly.  That is,
 to change its orbit in such a way so that it would be possible to launch
 transport and cargo ships and ensure supplies to this station from the
 Plesetsk space center.
 22    [Solntsev] I have one last question.  Do you believe in the existence of
 UFO's?
 23    [Gusev] I personally do not believe in the existence of UFO's in the form
 described as some kind of mysterious apparatus' from which humanoids
 appear.  However, I can confirm that there are real, to date
 incomprehensible, and unidentifiable phenomena, inasmuch as I have seen
 such phenomena during a flight in an aircraft.  True, not in the form of
 an object, but in the form of a ray of light which performed definite
 movements in the air, and to this day the origin of which is still a
 mystery to me.
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 24   [Solntsev] Good, I thank you.  The "Utro" program questions were answered
 by Major General Yuriy Grigoriyevich Gusev, the deputy commander of the
 Russian Ministry of Defense Space Units.  Thank you very much, and success
 in your service.
 25   [Gusev] Thank you, and taking this opportunity I would like to
 congratulate my colleagues, all those who are involved with astronautics,
 and all those who took an active part in solving the problems of space in
 past years, on the forthcoming 35th anniversary of the launch of the first
 artificial satellite from earth.
 26   [Solntsev] Thank you very much. [Video shows a launch, control room,
 various antennae, aerial view of a launch pad, space equipment and
 assembly, a gantry view of the launch pad, and a rocket being railed out
 o  the hangar  erected, and launched] (endall) 011945
 20710.020    07/1450z Oct
 27     0710144992T   2

