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Photo: NASA
NASA plans on buying up to 24 seats aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft to fly astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) after the Space Shuttle is retired.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, intends to contract with Roscosmos for a minimum of 18 Soyuz seats up to a maximum of 24 seats beginning in the spring of 2012, NASA said in contract documents released Thursday.
“The maximum number of 24 seats may be procured using multiple modifications in increments of three seats, to complete the entire effort,” NASA said. “These services are being procured through Roscosmos because the Soyuz is the only proven crew transportation and rescue vehicle (other than the Space Shuttle which is scheduled for retirement in September 2010) currently compatible and able to dock to the International Space Station and capable of providing the needed services.”
The Russian Soyuz spacecraft will provide crew transportation and rescue services for ISS crews.
Space Adventures, Ltd., in Vienna, Va., a company that provides space tourist flights, sells tourist seats aboard Soyuz vehicles for approximately $30 million per flight.
Comments
NASA modified the contract (Modification #1) on Apr. 23, '09 to make the minimum number of seats 3.
See FedBizOpps/NASA or the Hobbyspace/Space Transportation News entery (Comments doesn't like weblinks, otherwise I'd have put the links in to take everyone to the info).
To me this is a recongnition of some of the New Space companies coming ablities to do manned launch to the ISS/LEO. So instead of locking themselves into the use of the Soyoz system for years NASA seems to be giving itself a way to close out the Russian contract and go with American ISS/LEO manned lauchers till the NASA Constillation System is man-rated and comes online ... *IF* it survies that long.
I did see that contract modification Michael. But they don't give any real reason for the modification. But your comments seem to be on the right track.
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