the Russian space program alive, and only the Space Shuttle was keeping Mir aloft. NASA also had to pay hefty fees for training manuals and equipment used by astronauts training at Star City. Problems came to a head when ABC's Nightline revealed that there was a distinct possibility of embezzlement of American finances by the Russian authorities in order to build a suite of new cosmonaut houses in Moscow, or else that the building projects were being funded by the Russian Mafia. NASA administrator Goldin was invited onto Nightline to defend the homes but he refused to comment. NASA's office for external affairs was quoted as saying that "What Russia does with its own money is their business." See also List of heaviest spacecraft Skylab 4 References External links History of Shuttle–Mir (NASA) Diary of Linenger Increment (NASA) Shuttle–Mir Lessons for the International Space Station James Oberg, Contributing Editor, SPECTRUM magazine June 1998, pp. 28–37 Human spaceflight programs Mir Space Shuttle missions NASA programs Russia–United States relations