Fox News - Fair & Balanced

Michael E. Lopez-Alegria

RelatedTopics

  1. Michael T. Good
  2. Wasteful NASA Constellation Spending
  3. NASA
  4. Christopher J. Cassidy
  5. Karen L. Nyberg
  6. Al Michaels
Get updates on Michael E. Lopez-Alegria
NASA wants cash for space taxis

American astronauts could be forced to fly on Russian spacecraft beyond 2017 if Congress continues to cut funding for private crewed vehicles, NASA chief Charles Bolden says.On Tuesday (April 30), NASA announced that it will pay $70.7 million each for six more seats aboard Russian Soyuz space capsules. The $424 million deal keeps Americans launching to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz through 2016, with return and rescue services extending until June 2017.Funding cuts to NASA's Commercial Crew Program have delayed the development of private American space taxis, making this latest deal with the Russians necessary, Bolden said. And future cuts could bring about the purchase of even more Soyuz seats, he added. [ The Top 10 Private Spaceships ]"Even this delayed availability will be in question if Congress does not fully support the President's fiscal year 2014 request for our Commercial Crew Program, forcing us once again to extend our contract with the Russians," Bolden ...

Read More ›

  1. New rocket plane to begin space tourist launches in 2014

    Thrill seekers looking for the ultimate rocket ride may soon turn that dream into a reality aboard a new suborbital spaceship, a winged rocket plane slated to start ...

  2. Atlantis Cleared to Land on Thursday

    Atlantis was cleared to return to Earth this coming week after the space shuttle's heat shield was judged capable of surviving the intense heat of re-entry, and a U....

  3. Space Shuttle Discovery Lands in Florida

    Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts safely returned to Earth on Friday after some last-minute suspense over which landing site to use, closing out a yea...

  4. Discovery Docks With International Space Station

    After a two-day journey, space shuttle Discovery reached the international space station Monday for a weeklong stay to continue construction on the orbiting lab and ...

  5. First Paying Female Space Tourist Arrives at Space Station

    The space capsule carrying a new U.S.-Russian crew and the first paying female space tourist docked smoothly Wednesday at the international space station.Officials a...

  6. Rocket Launch Saturday Is One Giant Leap for Commercial Spaceflight

    With the launch of the first privately built spacecraft to the International Space Station just days away, the commercial spaceflight industry is on the verge of a d...

  7. Space Tourist Anousheh Ansari Back on Earth

    Anousheh Ansari, the world's first female paying space tourist, returned to Earth on Friday after an 11-day sojourn in space capped by the bone-jarring journey from ...

  8. U.S. Space Tourist Returns to Earth

    The space capsule carrying Anousheh Ansari , the world's first female paying space tourist, back to Earth touched down Friday on the Kazakh steppe after a bone-jarri...

  9. Calamitous Hailstorm Forces Postponement of Shuttle Launch

    NASA announced Tuesday that a fateful hailstorm the previous evening had caused such damage to space shuttle Atlantis' external liquid-fuel tank that the scheduled M...

  10. Space Tourist Thrilled to Be on Space Station

    The first paying female space tourist said Friday she felt a little queasy on her rocket ride to the international space station but she since has been enjoying ever...

  11. Astronaut Breaks U.S. Record for Spacewalking on ISS Mission

    Astronaut Breaks U.S. Record for Spacewalking on ISS MissionThursday, February 08, 2007Print APFeb. 8: In this image from NASA Television, Commander Michael Lopez-Al...

  12. U.S. Space Tourist Returns to Earth

    U.S. Space Tourist Returns to EarthFriday, September 29, 2006E-Mail Print Share: AP/NASASept. 20: A Russian Soyuz spacecraft approaches the international space stati...

  1. How Singer Sarah Brightman Could Change the Face of Private Space Travel

    When singer Sarah Brightman launches to space in 2015 or so, she will likely be the most famous non-astronaut to reach orbit.Brightman has signed a deal to fly in sp...

  2. Private Spaceflight Industry at Big Turning Point, Experts Say

    LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The burgeoning field of commercial spaceflight is at a major turning point, industry experts say."It's not an exaggeration to say that 2012 has re...

  3. Yearlong Space Missions Will Present Physical and Mental Challenges

    NASA is getting ready to send astronauts on yearlong missions to the International Space Station, doubling the duration of a typical orbital stay. These long-term mi...

  4. Astronaut Runs Boston Marathon in Orbit

    Astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams started her version of the Boston Marathon on Monday, running on a treadmill 210 miles above Earth undeterred by the wind and rain f...

  5. Commercial Space Travel May Bring Science Benefits, Advocates Say

    Launching NASA astronauts to the International Space Station aboard commercial spaceships may have its risks, but the payoffs from lower-cost flights to the orbiting...

  6. Shuttle Launch Likelihood Still Not Good, NASA Says

    For the first time in more than four years, a NASA space shuttle — Discovery — is poised to light up the night sky in an evening launch bound for the international s...

  7. Commercial space race at make-or-break moment with looming launch

    Several false starts and nearly $400 million in taxpayer funds later, a California space company is aiming in a matter of days to be the first private firm to send i...

‹ Prev123Next ›