NASA Buys Three Seats On Russian Soyuz

NASA is purchasing its first Russian crew transportation services since Congress extended a waiver to a law that effectively would have blocked the launch of American astronauts to the International Space Station after the end of 2011.

The $141 million contract modification signed with the Russian Federal Space Agency buys three seats on two Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be launched in late 2011.

A single seat was purchased on a September 2011 Soyuz flight, and two seats were purchased on a Soyuz mission to be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in November 2011.

The firm, fixed-price contract covers all training and preparation for launch, crew rescue and return trips to Earth in the spring of 2012. The flights may be used to fulfill U.S. obligations to its international partners -- including space agencies in Canada, Europe and Japan -- for transportation services to and from the outpost.

The pact also provides for limited amounts of cargo to be flown to or from the station. The cargo allotments can be used to dispose of trash, too. About 110 pounds can be launched to the station, 37 pounds can be returned to Earth and about 66 pounds can be put toward trash disposal.

NASA aims to finish construction of the International Space Station and retire its aging shuttle fleet by the end of September 2010. The U.S. then would rely on Russia to launch American astronauts to and from the station until its Ares 1 rocket and Orion spacecraft are ready to fly in March 2015.

The U.S. also is obligated under intergovernmental agreements to provide crew rescue capability at the station, and Russian Soyuz craft are the only capable vehicles available.

NASA had been purchasing Soyuz from the Russians under a waiver to the Iran, North Korea and Syria Non-Proliferation Act. That waiver was set to expire at the end of 2011, but Congress passed an extension in late September.

ABOUT THE IMAGE: Click to enlarge and save the NASA image of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft approaching the International Space Station. You can also click the enlarge image to see an even bigger, more detailed view.