Skipper: An American-Russian Space Effort

In an experiment that seeks not only scientific information but information about how two very different cultures can work together, the Skipper satellite project is a ground-breaking partnership between Russian and American scientists that will explore the physical mechanisms that produce spacecraft optical emissions. Built jointly by the Americans and Russians, the satellite will be integrated with a Russian Molnia rocket and launched from the Bakinor space center in Kazakhstan. The origins of this unusual project, how its design evolved to meet time and funding constraints, and how the satellite will operate in space are the subject of this paper