Tue, Apr 10, 2007
Roskosmos Will Handle Flights In Absence Of Shuttles, CEV
NASA announced this week the space
agency has signed a five-year, $719 million International Space
Station crew and cargo contract with Russia's Federal Space Agency
(FSA). The firm-fixed price extension covers crew rotations for 15
crew members, six in 2009, six in 2010 and three in 2011... as well
as the delivery and removal of 12,300 lbs of cargo.
With the contract, the US space agency is also purchasing a
Russian Docking Cargo Module flight in 2010 for the delivery of
3,086 lbs of NASA cargo to the ISS. That cargo is the outfitting
hardware for Russia's ISS Multipurpose Laboratory Module. NASA is
obligated to deliver the Russian module's hardware under a 2006
addendum to the ISS Balance of Contributions Agreement between NASA
and the FSA.
In addition, NASA is purchasing a flight opportunity to and from
the space station that will meet another obligation to the ISS
partners. The 2009 flight will allow for an astronaut from the
partners to spend approximately six months aboard the space
station.
NASA's intention to limit Space Shuttle flights to ISS assembly
missions and the retirement of the entire shuttle fleet in 2010
means it has to find cargo and crew transportation alternatives. It
may purchase services from the European Space Agency for its cargo
delivering Automated Transfer Vehicle, expected to have its maiden
flight next year.
The US space agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
(COTS) program may provide the bulk of cargo transportation needs
from 2010 to the space station. California based Space Exploration
Technologies and Oklahoma's Rocketplane-Kistler are competing for
this contract with their launch systems, Falcon 9 and Kistler-1
respectively.
Work in support of this contract is performed in Russia;
Kazakhstan; onboard the International Space Station; at NASA's
Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Kennedy Space Center, FL.
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