Cooperation will be stepped up on regulatory policy, investment issues, competition, financial services, telecommunications, transport, energy, space activities and space launching, etc.

Both women spoke on the eve of a two-day conference on the outlook for commercial space launchings.

Instead, the board heard a review that said the company planned to keep everything it currently has in the aircraft, space launching, satellite and global telecommunications businesses.

Yet each space launching remains a miracle that may not happen.

It called for on-site inspections immediately before every space launching and permanent stationing of international inspector groups at all launch sites.

The failures halted American space launchings for several months.

Even now the succession of space launchings and capsule retrievals is beginning to take on a kind of ritual dramatic pattern.

At televised space launchings, cameras always focused on the cosmonauts and not the person to whom they reported their readiness to carry out the mission.

Over all, the pace of Soviet space launchings has dropped to 50 or 60 a year.

"We have prohibited all space launchings," Hernandez said.