10/29/93:  U.S./RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCIES HOOKING SCIENCE NETWORKS

Charles Redmond
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                      October 29, 1993

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.

RELEASE:  93-196

     U.S. and Russian scientists soon will be able to communicate with each
other directly over an international computer network now being set up by
NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.

     Starting in January 1994, the NASA Science Internet (NSI) will connect
research sites in the United States with Russia's Space Research Institute
(IKI) in Moscow. Nine additional Russian space- related institutions, including
the Astronomical Institute, the Institute of Biomedical Problems, the Gagarin
Cosmonaut Training Center and NPO (Scientific Production Association) Energia,
will be connected through what is called the Russian Space Science Internet
(RSSI).

     The NSI link to Russia will support 15 collaborative science programs in
the first phase of the project, such as research in life sciences, solar system
exploration, astrophysics, space physics and Earth sciences.

     The NSI is the electronic backbone of NASA's scientific computing network
and connects to 150 sites and more than 40,000 NASA researchers and scientists
throughout the world.

     Members of Ames' NSI staff worked closely with IKI to design the Russian
Space Science Internet. "NSI's policy is to have a presence at one site within
a country," said Sheli Jones-Meylor, NSI Requirements Manager for life and
microgravity sciences at Ames. "That site provides internet connectivity to
other NASA requirement sites."

     Jones-Meylor said NSI will provide a satellite link to IKI, which will
serve as the hub of the new computer network. "IKI will provide links to the
other sites using existing Russian telecommunications capabilities," she added.

     As part of the arrangement, NSI will loan computer networking equipment to
Russia. It will loan 11 specialized communications routers to sites required by
NASA programs.  Routers are electronic gateways which direct computer traffic
among various networks.  NSI also will loan telephone modems and a computer
terminal server which will connect user terminals to the network.

     "NSI will manage the new science computer network in cooperation with
RSSI," said James Hart, Chief of the Wide Area Networking Services Branch at
Ames. "RSSI will connect to the NSI Network Operations Center at Ames which
will provide continuous monitoring and support."

     "Russian scientists will be able to use information search tools in
addition to standard computer networking applications," said NSI Engineer Lee
Wade, who has made several trips to Russia to develop the network.

     "We're not going in there and building their network," said Christine
Falsetti, Ames' NSI Project Manager. "We're teaching them how to build their
own network.  Our scientists are very enthusiastic about the start of this
service.  Together with our Russian counterparts, we will install and service
the networking equipment."

     Three Russian networking specialists will visit Ames later this year for a
3-week conference on computer networking and the Internet. When they return to
Russia, they will operate and monitor RSSI in cooperation with NSI.

     During the next few years, NSI and the U.S. Department of Energy hope to
expand the computer network to other sites in Russia.

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  Via FTL BBS (404-292-8761) and NASA Spacelink (205-895-0028)
