"Olga Dubrovina captures a turbulent era and the complex ESA-USSR space partnership. As a reader, I strongly recommend this book." (Lev M. Zelenyi, Scientific Director, Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "'Blessed is he who visited this world in its fateful moments,' wrote Pushkin. Olga Dubrovina's book evokes that same blend of nostalgia, urgency, and regret. She captures a turbulent era and the complex ESA-USSR space partnership. As a reader, I strongly recommend this book and would welcome a continuation exploring Russia's dramatic post-Perestroika space journey." (Lev M.

Zelenyi, Scientific Director, Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "Having lived through these turbulent years of international space cooperation, I saw firsthand how perestroika reshaped Soviet space science. This book is an important historical work, capturing the challenges faced at that time, and how determination from scientists kept international collaboration alive." (Roger Bonnet, ESA Director of Science from 1983 to 2001) "Olga Dubrovina has produced an extraordinarily important book about an understudied aspect of the Soviet space program, the years during perestroika. As Dubrovina shows, science was an important lever of the larger political changes in the Soviet system during this crucial time. Her work is indispensable for anyone seeking to understand the source of the challenges faced by the current Russian space program." (Asif Siddiqi, Professor, History Department, Fordham University) "Olga Dubrovina sheds light on a fascinating chapter in the history of cooperation in space between previously adverse partners during the perestroika period, 1985-1990. With great detail and profound insight, she explores the political and practical conditions which enabled a wave of short- and mid-term opportunities - paving the way for the long-term collaboration that would ultimately culminate in the creation of the largest object ever built in space: the International Space Station." (René Pischel, Head of the European Space Agency Permanent Mission in Russia, 2009-2024).