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August 23, 2021
The United States does not rule out the possibility of acquiring a seat in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft next spring as a backup option in case of force majeure with American commercial ships, Sergei Savelyev, Deputy Director General of the State Corporation Roscosmos for International Cooperation, told RIA Novosti.
Soyuz MS manned spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA
“The Americans, as an option, are leaving this opportunity (acquiring a seat in the Soyuz spacecraft in the spring of 2022 - ed.), Counting on Russia's help and assistance, but I can’t say anything concrete yet,” Saveliev said, referring to the possibility of such a flight.
With the advent of new US spacecraft, NASA has repeatedly announced its decision to complete the purchase of seats in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but technical difficulties continue to haunt American spaceships, forcing NASA astronauts to continue flying on Soyuz. For example, the Starliner test flight was recently postponed for a long period. Following previous problems with this spacecraft, the United States acquired a seat from Russia for its astronaut's flight to the ISS in the spring of 2021.
Soyuz MS (manned) spacecraft description. Image Credit: ESA
According to data previously announced by NASA, since 2006 the United States has acquired 72 seats on the Soyuz spacecraft from Russia for more than $ 4 billion. During this time, the cost of a ticket for them increased from $ 20 million to $ 90 million.
Source: RIA Novosti.
Related article:
Starliner Returns to Factory, Preparations Underway to Resolve Valve Issue
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/08/starliner-returns-to-factory.html
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/32272/
ROSCOSMOS: https://www.roscosmos.ru/
RIA News: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/ria-novosti/
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