mjc wrote:
As if the ticket up on Soyuz was free in the first place...
I have to confess I'm slightly lost
Mark
Hi Mark,
it's a slightly embittering row between NASA and Russia over who gets to make money from use of the ISS. Space tourists have been going up at a rate of 2 to 3 a year, just for the servicing mission, not to stay on board the ISS. Russia has brought more 'tourists' up on its Soyuz rocket for the fee of US$20 million. NASA have brought far less tourists for about the same fee, but spend more money than the Russians by default due to the use of the very expensive Space Shuttle.
So, NASA gives out that the Russians might be making less of a loss in keeping the ISS up to date than NASA due to taking money from these tourists, and they are a bit grumpy that in the foreseeable future, NASA will be spending more money to keep the ISS in orbit than anyone else. They think why should they keep it going? All eyes are on them with the new Orion orbiter in the next few years and the retirement of the shuttle programme. Expectations are that NASA will STILL have to keep the ISS supplied somehow after the Shuttle retires, or even maybe an advanced Arianne programme from the ESA will keep the ISS alive, or the Russians MIGHT also oblige - unless they decide to detach their modules and create something like a
Mir 2 for themselves.
Seanie.
  