Fwd: Russia Triples Fee to Fly U.S. Astronauts Into Space

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: August 12, 2013 8:35:33 PM GMT-06:00
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Russia Triples Fee to Fly U.S. Astronauts Into Space

 
Russia will charge NASA $71 million to transport a single American astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2016 — three times what it charged in 2006.
 
NASA spent $60 billion of American taxpayers' money to help build the ISS plus $40 billion to use the space shuttles in the assembly process, and still contributes $3 billion a year to cover the station's operating costs.
"But NASA has little choice but to pay Russia's inflated ticket prices," CNS News observed, because the United States has no other way of transporting astronauts to the ISS.
 
"After NASA retired the space shuttle in 2011, the Russian Soyuz became the only vehicle capable of transporting crew to the ISS," an audit report from NASA's inspector general stated.
 
"Between 2006 and 2008, NASA purchased one seat per year. Beginning in 2009, NASA started purchasing six seats per year. The price per seat has increased over the years from $22 million in 2006, to $25 million in 2010, to $28 million in the first half of 2011.
 
"During the second half of 2011, the price per seat jumped to $43 million. The [prices] of purchased seats for launches in 2014 and 2015 are $55.6 million and $60 million, respectively. In April 2013, NASA signed another deal with Russia valued at $424 million for six additional seats to carry NASA astronauts to the Station during 2016 through June 2017, and the price per seat has increased to $71 million."
 
Price isn't NASA's only concern with the Soyuz craft. The vehicle can carry only three people, and two Soyuz capsules must be kept at the ISS in case an emergency evacuation is required, so the ISS can hold only six people at a time rather than the seven it was built to accommodate.
 
"A seventh crew member could potentially add about 33 hours per week to the current amount of crew time devoted to research — a 94 percent increase," the audit report disclosed.
 
As a result, "NASA began the Commercial Crew Program in 2010 in part to end its reliance on the Soyuz for crew transportation to the ISS," the report also noted.
 
"The goal of the Commercial Crew Program is to facilitate the design and development of safe, reliable, and cost effective crew transportation to the ISS and low Earth orbit.
 
"However, NASA has not received the full amount of funds it requested for its Commercial Crew Program since 2011, and the Program continues to face an uncertain funding stream.
 
"If this trend continues in the future, NASA likely will not meet its goal of having at least one vehicle transporting crew to the ISS in 2017. In that case, NASA would have to continue to purchase additional seats on Soyuz vehicles."