By 2017, NASA plans to completely abandon the services of Roscosmos for the delivery of its astronauts to the ISS.
NASA will replace the Russian "Soyuz" with a new American manned spacecraft, the maiden flight of which will take place in 2017, according to US space agency director Charles Bolden. By the way, the current agreement between NASA and Roscosmos on the use of Soyuz for the delivery of American astronauts to the ISS is, in fact, calculated until mid-2017. Until that time, international crews will continue to reach orbit on the Soyuz. Experts estimate that one seat on a Russian ship costs the United States $ 65 million.
NASA is launching a new private-sector partnership program that will build a new generation of rockets and ships. The program, based on public-private partnership, will be half funded from the state budget. SpaceX and Orbital Sciences have already confirmed their participation in it.
- America's best days in space exploration are ahead thanks to those people in government and the private sector who dared to dream big and managed to turn those dreams into reality. America. The private space industry will drive American economic growth in the 21st century and help us pursue more ambitious plans for deep space exploration,”Bolden said.