Russia is squeezing NASA for more than $3.3 billion — and there's little anyone can do about it

[lovuian]

http://www.businessinsider.com/astronaut-cost-per-soyuz-seat-2016-9

NASA is in quite a financial pickle with the Russians.

When the agency retired its space shuttle program in 2011, it was banking on commercial carriers — ultimately SpaceX and Boeing — to design, build, and test proven systems to launch its astronauts into space by 2015.

But those plans have been waylaid by 3 years, according to a buck-stopping audit by NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016.

This leaves the agency with one option for sending astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) 220 miles above Earth: a Russian spacecraft called the Soyuz

the price keeps going up and up

[davidn3600]

1. Yeah, that happens....

It's economics.

This country isn't as interested in space exploration anymore. And NASA can't decide on a direction to go anymore. So we have to rely on the Russians now. And they can charge anything they want.

[CentralMass]

2. Wonderful.

[napi21]

3. That's what happens when you bet on something in the future and it doesn't work out

NASA lost the bet, so not it has to deal with the consequences. I only WISH the greedy Pugs in Congress who insist on voting to lower THEIR taxes would recognize what their greed has cost our Country! THAT's the reason NASA had to bet on commercial businesses to continue the space program. THAT's why a college education costs students so much (the Federal support for the colleges dried up). THAT's why we can't keep our infrastructure in good repai r (taxes have been cut for the wealthy at all levels so states don't have any $$ either.)

[PersonNumber503602]

4. That's our own fault...

I have no idea if the cost hikes are justified or not, but in the US government brought this up itself.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Hopefully we will have those multiple other options for LEO transport sooner than that.

According to the report it's been pushed back to late 2018, which is two, not 3 years, at least from now. Of course, the recent pad explosion of a SpaceX falcon doesn't help.

But before we get too far down the path of "who is responsible", the most blame really goes back to Richard Nixon- he not only cut NASA off at the knees post-Apollo, the one major program he did push them in the direction of- the Space Shuttle- while being an amazing engineering accomplishment, it too was hobbled by cost-cutting and design limitations, which caused it to have inherent and insurmountable hazardous problems built in; leaving us, of course, with the situation we have today.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. capitalism sucks!