Goldin has doggedly stuck by his Russian partners throughout the summer of 1997 as a host of troubles and malfunctions have struck the space station. The latest crisis arose Monday when both the primary and secondary oxygen regeneration systems on Mir failed for a time. While the "failure" of the secondary was in fact the failure of only one of dozens of canisters flown aboard Mir, sources in Washington say the Russians refused at first to provide complete details on the incident to NASA officials. And then the Russian Space Agency moved to downplay the whole event, leaving NASA spokespersons in Houston caught in a public relations flap over whether or not there was a crisis in the first place.

Political critics of the shuttle-Mir project are out of town while the U.S. Congress is in recess, but the barbs are expected to fly again when the politicos return next week. Expect Goldin to get grilled once again over this latest "event" with the Russian space facility. Some within NASA are urging Goldin to cut his losses and cut the remaining astronaut exchanges, calling the program a success in the process. How quickly Mir stabilizes, and how much power is actually restored following last week's successful EVA repair will likely tell the tale.