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NASA Has No Plans To Buy More Soyuz Seats (spaceflightnow.com)
schwit1 writes: Both Boeing and SpaceX better get their manned capsules working by 2019, because NASA at this point has no plans to buy more seats on Russian Soyuz capsules after the present contract runs out. Spaceflight Now reports: "Even as the commercial crew schedules move later into 2018, NASA officials say they are not considering extending the contract with Roscosmos -- the Russian space agency -- for more launches in 2019. The last Soyuz launch seats reserved for U.S. astronauts are at the end of 2018. It takes more than two years to procure components and assemble new Soyuz capsules, so Russia needed to receive new Soyuz orders from NASA by some time this fall to ensure the spacecraft would be ready for liftoff in early 2019." The second paragraph above notes that even if NASA decided it needed more Soyuz launches, it is probably too late to buy them and have them available by 2019. "A Soyuz is a complicated vehicle, and a complicated vehicle doesn't come into existence in a matter of days," said Kirk Shireman, NASA's space station program manager. "It takes over two years to build a Soyuz, so yes, at some point in time, building a new Soyuz vehicle is not an option. We're working with our Russian counterparts on exactly when that is. We have not crossed that date yet, but I believe the date is in sight. It will be this calendar year when we will cross the point where we won't be able to build a Soyuz in time for when our last seats that we've already procured expire," Shireman said.
Obama must tomorrow order the NSA to hack Roscosmos, obtain complete specifications for the Soyuz platform, open source it, then contract with a different 3rd party to build our own line... but rather than using domestic parts/labor, outsource the whole thing to India or China to save on costs.
While the NSA is at it, best to find some dirty emails regarding Putin to help sway the election back the way they want it.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
Hopefully CONgress properly fund human launch.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
This. And Europe WILL do its part.
"boeing and spacex better get their manned capsules working by 2019"
lol. perhaps in 2025 at >10x cost of soyuz (inflation adjusted)
enough said.
better lay off the astronauts till then.
When it comes to outer space TRUMP Space will be FANTASTIC!!
because Putin's Russia is doomed.
ISS, like the Space Shuttle program before, is more of an ongoing PR promotion (and jobs program) than any kind of useful scientific mission.
Either send humans to Mars or stick with unmanned missions. More manned trips just to sit in LEO and pretend to do something useful are just pissing away money. It's time to end the charade.
Sadly, NASA will probably just end up funneling even more money to politically-connected contractors with the excuse that we need to build our own rockets, throwing even more good money after bad.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
It is proven technology as it already delivers supplies to ISS and returns safely. They have tested the abort system on the ground along with the other systems. I do not see why they will not be ready for flights in 2018. Boeing on the other hand is still way behind
Today's vices may be tomorrow's virtues.
Build the space station, populate it with perfect human specimens, arm it with lasers and wipe the corruption off the face of this planet.
I'd hate to see anyone in the Soyuz teams end up as another taxi driver in Moscow, or as hot dog sales specialist at the the streets of New York.
Obama is paving the way
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Russia is already at war with US.
...is always at war, comrade.
I keep on saying that NASA should buy Shenzhous from China, and launch them on Atlas V. The annual humans into space market is small: only 12 passengers per year. Yeah. Soyuz. Shenzhou on Atlas V. Shenzhou on Long March 2f. A less than perfect Dragon on Atlas V. Orion. My lineup.
Congrats. You are the only GOP/neo-cons/tea* that I see that has enough of a backbone to simply go with their login rather than be an AC.
I admire that. Far too many on the far right are spineless.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
As a Canadian, I am sad to see the joker the millennials and burned out hippies voted in as PM. The guy is clueless and arrogant. He has no respect for the working class and thinks it is OK to spend taxpayer money on lavish parties. The PM is NOT the head of state. Our head of state is the queen and her representative on the federal level is the governor general. Justin Trudeau thinks he was elected "KING" with less than 40 percent of the vote.
I think Justin was elected because seniors were disenfranchised by staff at care homes, by elections canada volunteers and I also believe many blindly voted on party lines instead of looking at leadership qualities. They should have not voted if they knew about the rigging of local riding candidate selections by Trudeau and other undemocratic moves made by the Liberals prior to the elections. The mainstream media also did not cover the destruction of election signs by NDP and Liberal supporters, the nazi graffiti painted on Conservative party campaign offices of local candidates as well as sexist threats toward female candidates. The fact is that the Conservative party fielded more women as candidates and people from more cultural backgrounds than the Liberals but the mainstream media was biased against the ruling party of the time.
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
With the way Russia has been running their space program, I think we may be the one giving the Russians rides to the ISS. While it's embarrassing that we retired our only means of space flight before building something new, I'm glad we were able to pay to hitch a ride with the Russians. Scientific discovery is a long path and to not travel it is to say you care about your pride more than you care about science and that is a dangerous attitude.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Im a registered Libertarian and am writing in Lawrence Lessig so that I can block ppl like you from interfering in our politics.
Sadly, you are a conservative Canadian, i.e. uneducated, so, I doubt that you understand anything about America.
However, It appear that your whole life is wrapped up in fucked up politics. You should come to America and join the GOP/tea*/kkk/nazi party. You would fit right in.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Why be afraid pf posting facts?
My Karma has been trashed before and it will be again.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
2 years to build a new Soyuz capsule after it's ordered? It takes Boeing and Airbus about 80 days to build a 777 or A380.
Even factoring in number of orders doesn't account for the difference. There are about 15 Soyuz launches per year. Airbus is delivering about 30 A380s per year. So that would only account for a factor of 2, putting expected build time for a Soyuz at 160 days, or less than half a year.
Oh, I agree. I am just sick and tired of the AC trolls here, of which most are on the right. I wish all ppl would simply use their login and perhaps be nice and friendly to others
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
By his special envoy friend, right? And we public do not matter when they only know how to say no, no more, it is over, the end of it. On another hand, why wouldnt the Russians have a stock of Soyuz vehicles? So we not only outsource space vehicles but give them an erratic demand incentive to not have a steady supply, expect then for private enterprises to fill in the void on the doctrine private enterprise is always better than government enterprise (except for wars, see?), and finally someone will start annoying because those companies had ties to the Russians for equipment and should be investigated!!! Doesnt it sound like crappy as in total crap? I do not think these are expressions of Arrow s Theorem, but rather than some people are in fact incoeherent and inconsistent, but we have to hire them as government officers and waste valuable time writing reasonable complaints like this one! SHAME, we should be example and budget at least one vehicle per year commissioned, JUST IN CASE.