US Senate Allows NASA To Buy Soyuz Vehicles 298
arc.light writes "According to a report at Space.com, the US Senate voted to allow NASA to buy Russian Soyuz vehicles for the purpose of servicing the International Space Station. Because Russia continues to assist Iran with its nuclear energy and ballistic missile programs, NASA would otherwise not be allowed to buy Russian hardware by the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000. The US House of Representatives still needs to give its approval before NASA can make such a purchase."
Choice (Score:5, Interesting)
Whatever, if it saves money, I'm sure the government will do it. I'm pretty sure they can use extra cash wherever they can find it now.
Re:Worth the investment? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Hands off Iran (Score:1, Interesting)
I have Venezuelan friends who say that Chavez is a power-hungry, greedy wannabe dictator. Not necessarily evil, but just another politician who doesn't deliver on his promises, stirs up public opinion (mostly the poor) and points to some villain du jour (the U.S.) to blame for all his country's ills, instead of doing something to make his people's lives better. Funny, that sounds a lot like some guy who lives in public housing on Pennsylvania Ave. in zip code 20500.
They have no choice, basically. (Score:3, Interesting)
Sometimes one is forced to choose between a shitty choice or death. In this case they're chosen the shitty situation which may allow for their survival.
Re:What? (Score:1, Interesting)
Moon by 2018 (Score:2, Interesting)
Good idea! (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, I would much rather be sent to the ISS in a Soyuz than go up in a Shuttle. The ride might not be as comfortable and roomy, but my chances of surviving are far higher. It might be a bit cramped, but that's far better than flying apart on re-enrty due to having a too-complex system.
I watched some C-SPAN where NASA was talking about the new safety measures they implemented with all the cameras and such. Honestly, it's cause people to freak out more than it does to pacify due to the ability to see all the little problems that occure during lift-off that normally aren't seen. NASA had to explain a dozen times that "that's normal wear-and-tear, people" because the press was worried about all the little problems no one have ever really looked at before because of the new camera system. The good news is that most of the manuevers they did to fix it all are brand-new and never before done, and has given NASA much needed experience in dealing with space-based repair.
Not likely (Score:3, Interesting)
who is the top CEO that ran up a large deficit at the only company that ran, and had to be bailed out by Saudia Arabia, and now has THE top post and is again running up the world's and historical largest deficit? That is where managers are leading us today. Also check out United, US Airways, Delta, Northwest, The steel industry, shortly Boeing, clothing manufactuers, etc. About the only ones doing OK is big tobacco, and big oil. And I think that both are about to change.
Welllllll...... (Score:3, Interesting)
We had Apollo 1 on the pad (3 dead) - they had R-16 on the pad (over 90 dead).
We had Challenger and Columbia, both fatal flights (14 dead), they had Souyz 1 and 11 - both fatal flights (4 dead).
We had a near miss on Apollo 13, they had one on Soyuz 5.
We each tossed a space station into the drink, arguably prematurely on both accounts.
Both have a full compliment of Charlie Foxtrot flight moments, and ground crew / training fatalities.
The usual rhetoric includes references here on
NASA and Commercial ISS Transport (Score:3, Interesting)
From this article [space.com]:
NASA will soon solicit offers from firms interested in delivering cargo and crew to the international space station (ISS), but NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said he wants to buy services, not dole out development contracts to newcomers who were shut out of the competition to build the space shuttle's replacement.
Griffin said he also would like to see a robust commercial space transportation industry take root and thrive, and said the best way for NASA to help is "to utilize the market that is offered by the international space station's requirement to supply crew and cargo as the years unfold."
Griffin promised that NASA would give priority to non-government services should they become available, although he cautioned that deliberately "under utilizing" a NASA-owned and -operated system could encounter resistance from lawmakers intent on protecting government jobs.
Another difference between a traditional government contract and the deals Griffin hopes to make is that they would emphasize "performance rather than process." While NASA would insist on "certain standards," Griffin said "It's not up to me as the procurer of that service to determine how the engineers working for you, the provider, provide that service."
Charles Miller, president of Constellation Services International, said he was "enthusiastically looking forward" to NASA's crew and cargo solicitation. Constellation Services Internationals, Woodland Hills, Calif., is developing what it calls the LEO (low Earth orbit) Express standardized cargo container, which could launch atop virtually any rocket, as an affordable, near-term solution to NASA's space station re-supply needs.
Elon Musk, president of Space Exploration Technologies [spacex.com], said he was "definitely encouraged" by Griffin's remarks. "This is a market SpaceX has been interested in for a long time," Musk said.