RUSSIAN-AMERICAN COLLABORATION IN OUTER SPACEPROSPECTS FOR AN INERNATIONAL REGIME
Moscow and Washington retain leadership positions in space research while maintaining a distance from other space powers, especially China and the EU. In the early 2010s, as in 1960, only the United States and Russia have the logistical, scientific, technological, and resource base for the full spectrum of space research and exploration. However, the resources of Russia and the United States are asymmetrical, and the United States has the superiority in a number of areas. The predominance of Washington is currently secured by its presence in the world's only global satellite navigation and communication system. Russian space programs are in turn aimed at addressing three types of tasks. The first is to preserve preserve Russia’s status as a country that is still capable of providing for a full range of space research. The second is to prevent the superiority of the United States in the full range of space research. The third is to lay the technological foundations for the development of aerospace defense. The purpose of the present article is to generate ideas about the compatibility of the space programs of both countries as the axis of the emerging international regime in the field of space exploration. It will also identify the potential “risks of cooperation” and promising benefits of cooperation between Russia and the United States, considering the complex issues of bilateral cooperation between Russia and the U.S. in the field of the peaceful use of space. International co-operation between Russia and the U.S. in outer space is varied in nature due to the presence of a huge potential in this sector in both countries. However, some areas of cooperation contain a number of inconsistencies caused by the fact that the U.S. is not only our largest partner, but also a major competitor. The complexity of the Russian- American partnership in this area is highlighted by the fact that it is a collaboration of comparable partners. Consequently, each of the powers has to combine the interests of the protection of their original developments with the objectives of maximum acquaintance with a partner’s accomplishments. They also need to maintain some reasonable level of mutual trust, without which the partnership cannot take place.