Report from Washington, D.C.

Russians Hike Cost of a Ride to $63 Million

Written by: Space Foundation Editorial Team

According to a story from The Associated Press, the Russians are hiking the price of rocket rides again for U.S. astronauts - to nearly $63 million.

The price goes up in 2014 for an astronaut to fly to and from the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

The previous contract charged just under $56 million apiece. The contract extension with the Russian Space Agency totals $753 million. That covers trips for a dozen astronauts from 2014 through 2016.

NASA officials said inflation is the reason for the latest price increase and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that U.S. companies must take over this transportation job that the Space Shuttles used to perform. The Space Shuttle program retires this summer.

This article is part of Space Watch: April 2011 (Volume: 10, Issue: 4).


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