Russia to stop ferrying US astronauts to ISS from April 2019

Another not so surprising development from Russia. The Russians are paid rather handsomely to transport western astronauts to the international space station but even with the monetary enumeration it would appear they have had enough of western sanctions and Russia. Russia, accusations....or...it is a good time to jack up the price ?

Russia’s contract with NASA to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) will expire in April next year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov has said.

Under the current contract, American astronauts avail of seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft in order to reach the ISS and return home. The US lost its capacity for manned space missions after the retirement of the Space Shuttle program, and is about to finalize a replacement in the form of a manned SpaceX Dragon capsule.

The cost of the ISS ferry service has varied over the years, with NASA paying about $81 million per seat in 2018, up from the cheapest price of $21.8 million in 2007 and 2008.

From 22 million up to 81 million in 10 years I would say there is a possibility that the price may triple (or more) if there is a new contract.. I really do not blame them if they do.. However hopefully with some of our private space endeavors (SpaceX Dragon capsule or others) the Russian ride will not be needed by 2019.

However, Russia may continue ferrying US astronauts to orbit if a new deal is struck, Sergey Krikalev, executive director of manned space programs at Roscosmos, told TASS.

www.rt.com...

We don't need them. We have Amazon, and Tesla

a reply to: 727Sky

yeah... big deal, no offense, but we were just keepin their 1980s machines in service, while we tested and secured vastly superior...good ol optics at work

Do we even have a space program anymore?

Maybe we can check with the Iranians, Chinese, or North Koreans for a better deal?

We should have just bought their space program.

It makes sense though, America has outsourced just about everything so why not space commutes.

a reply to: roadgravel

Try putting ISS into Uber, see what you get?

a reply to: 727Sky

You're on to something here. All one has to do is 'think' about it.

it would appear they have had enough of western sanctions and Russia. Russia, accusations....or...it is a good time to jack up the price ?

LMAO. No, it has nothing to do with sanctions. The contract runs out. It is up to NASA to make a new one.

a reply to: 727Sky

The discontinuation of the Space Shuttle program seemed like a minor inconvenience in 2011, when the US and Russia were on relatively good terms. Today, however – amid a bitter political stand-off between the two nations – the fact that the US has to rely on Russia in some aspects of its space exploration is considered humiliating by some people in America.

Space has always been a political arena with scientists (and science) depending on the moods of the politicians and international diplomacy. Ironic how the ISS represents the unifying properties of science with people from all nations doing science up there. Down here it's the usual political blowhards scoring political points and flag-waving. RT is bad for that and so are some of our own media portals. A bit of jingoism is like rocket fuel.

It'll work out next year. I'm sure. NASA, ESA and Roscosmos are working together on a new space station. Science will hopefully keep cooking even while this new Cold War is settling in.

originally posted by: Archivalist
a reply to: roadgravel

Try putting ISS into Uber, see what you get?

And untrained illegal immigrant taking them to the bottom of the sea instead, mugging and raping them?

The ISS is currently an expensive (very expensive for the US) international love-in. It's been good. NASA and the Western space agencies should work together as they are less prone to politics. Let the Russian's adapt to the removal of the funding funding from the West, via things like the ISS, and see if they can keep all these expensive Soviet inspired programmes going.

Screw NASA today. They used to rely on American ingenuity. Now, NASA are slaves to Russians. Good lord, the USA were the first to get to the moon, but good lord we need such Russia’s suoyez to get a ride to space now. Talk about crap.

a reply to: 727Sky
Hasn't it been America's goal for a while to start launching their astronauts off American soil using American rockets? I thought that was the whole point; I'm sure Russia wouldn't mind getting paid hansomely for the ferrying. It's not their idea to stop that, just like it's not their idea to scrap the ISS in a few year's time.


www.youtube.com...

originally posted by: moebius
LMAO. No, it has nothing to do with sanctions. The contract runs out. It is up to NASA to make a new one.

This.

The contract had ran out. Nothing to do with sanctions (Or so we are told).

haha someone knows the truth a reply to: BlueJacket

originally posted by: roadgravel
We should have just bought their space program.

It makes sense though, America has outsourced just about everything so why not space commutes.

In some ways the US did purchase the Russian space program.

In addition to relying on Russia to get astronauts to the ISS, the US is also reliant on Russian-built rocket engines to get satellites, and future astronauts, into space.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is powered by the Russian RD-180 rocket engine. Furthermore there is nothing in the US inventory to replace this engine. While the ULA just inked a deal to buy 6 more RD-180's in 2020, the Russian government is threatening to ban further sales of the RD-180 to the United States.

There have been some legislative attempts in the last few years to ban the use of Russian rocket engines, which would have had the effect of forcing US companies to more quickly develop alternative technology. But various lobbying efforts and threats have served to neuter those efforts; leaving the US in a precarious position with respect to access to space.

-dex

originally posted by: EternalSolace
Screw NASA today. They used to rely on American ingenuity. Now, NASA are slaves to Russians. Good lord, the USA were the first to get to the moon, but good lord we need such Russia’s suoyez to get a ride to space now. Talk about crap.

Its not NASA's fault at all. When companies decided to outsource its industrial might to China it signed the death warrant for US. Today's USAF fighters average life is 23.5 years. Crumbling Infrastructure requiring trillions to fix will be funded from debt. Whilst interest rates on debt is expected to grow to $965 billion by 2028, All this whilst government and states have faced a 300 billion yearly shortfall in pension funds from an ageing population.

So given the budget constraints NASA has done an amazing job.

originally posted by: ausername
Do we even have a space program anymore?

Maybe we can check with the Iranians, Chinese, or North Koreans for a better deal?

NASA paid Boeing and SpaceX big money to develop a crew transport vehicle (Boeing's CST-100 "Starliner" and SpaceX's "Dragon 2"), and at least one, or both, of those might be ready to take humans to LEO by next year. So NASA will have an alternative to the Russians soon, and maybe even soon enough.

NASA also has the Orion spacecraft which will be ready for humans in a couple of years. An unmanned trip around the Moon is schedule for less than two years from now, with a manned mission coming after that.

Construction on the Orion Capsule is Done. Next it’ll be Sent to Florida for Final Assembly


NASA’s First Flight With Crew Important Step on Long-term Return to the Moon, Missions to Mars

originally posted by: EternalSolace
Screw NASA today. They used to rely on American ingenuity. Now, NASA are slaves to Russians. Good lord, the USA were the first to get to the moon, but good lord we need such Russia’s suoyez to get a ride to space now. Talk about crap.

Russia got to the Moon first actually. They were the first in many aspects of the space race.
The first artificial satellite.
October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite

The first man in space.
1961: Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to enter space and the first to orbit the Earth,

The first woman in space.
Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly to space when she launched on the Vostok 6 mission June 16, 1963

The first space walk on orbit.
On March 18, 1965, Alexey Leonov... opened the doors on an entire new branch of exploration as the first spacewalker.

The first artificial craft to successfully land on the Moon.
The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission, on 13 September 1959

And the first to orbit the Moon.
The Soviet Luna 10 became the first spacecraft to actually orbit the Moon in April 1966.

However Americans were the first and only manned mission to the Moon that successfully landed on the Lunar surface. Our setback was safety and redundant systems that proved crucial in the long run.

NASA was very successful at Mars missions where Russia was not yet the opposite might be said about Venusian missions. Russia Venera missions were the only ones to successfully land on the surface of Venus.
Soviet Venus Images

I think space exploration should be a concerted effort from all interested nations. The fact the US no longer has the means to get to space is quite embarrassing in my opinion. Perhaps we are spending too much on national offense...I mean defense.

a reply to: Devino
Great post, Devino, thanks for this rundown of historical facts. Yes, the Soviet Russia was quite incredible in early space exploration.