Reports that Russia will stop sending astronauts to the International Space Station in April 2019 have beensomewhat overdone , although NASA is facing a race against time to get its new fleet of space vehicle up and running .
Speaking to reporter last Friday , Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said Russia ’s contractual obligation to send US astronauts to the ISS would end in April 2019 , reported the Russian tidings websiteTASS .
" The landing place of a Soyuz MS spacecraft in April will nail the fulfilment of our indebtedness under a contract with NASA link to the delivery of US astronaut to the ISS and their return key from the station , " he said .
US company Boeing and SpaceX are developing ballistic capsule for NASA , to end their trust on the Soyuz to take astronauts to the ISS , as part of the multi - billion dollarCommercial Crew Program . But both spacecraft have been delayed , with initial launches planned for 2016 now pushed back untilwell into 2019 . These will be the first crewed launches from US soil since the final Space Shuttle trajectory in 2011 .
“ In 2017 , NASA exercised an option to purchase Soyuz transportation through Boeing for three crew members to fly on a Soyuz spacecraft in 2019 with a yield in other 2020 , ” a NASA interpreter enjoin IFLScience .
That is still quite close , and highlight the risk NASA has of lose access to space temporarily . A reportearlier this yearfound that any further delays to Boeing and SpaceX ’s space vehicle , Starliner and Crew Dragon respectively , risked leaving NASA in the lurch .
“ extra hold could lead in a gap in US access to the space post as NASA has contract for seats on the Russian Soyuz ballistic capsule only through November 2019 , ” that report stated . “ NASA is considering potential option , but it does not have a contingence architectural plan for assure uninterrupted US approach . ”
Options are limited . Buying extra Soyuz seats is unlikely , as these are normally apportion about three age in advance . But NASA may prefer for another alternative , which is to use the initial crew flights of Starliner and Crew Dragon – once planned as trial flight in Earth orbit – as full flights to the ISS .
