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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.
"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.
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.
The United States has NEVER fought an enemy without air superiority. The only enemy that came close was Japan and only until the US started sinking their carriers in the Coral Sea. Germany had already lost the battle of Britain by the time the US came on the scene and the Luftwaffe was decimated and never recovered - especially after having to also deal with the Russian front after Barbarossa. While the US has more aircraft than Russia, the US also has a lot of front and a lot more bases to defend - from Japan to Lithuania. Plus American aircraft are extremely high tech, delicate creatures. Russian aircraft are built to be rugged and most of them can land on grass strips and other rough surfaces. Any American who over-estimates the potential of his armed forces against an enemy such as Russia and China (they have a mutual defense pact by the way so an aggressive America would not be fighting only one enemy) is in for a nasty, nasty shock.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.