“It is disheartening that we must continue to rely on increasingly expensive Russian vehicles to take our astronauts to the International Space Station,” said CSF President Michael Lopez-Alegria. “NASA’s commercial cargo program, undertaken in partnership with Orbital Sciences and SpaceX, has been highly successful in creating reliable, cost-effective American cargo delivery to the ISS, and we support NASA’s continued and vigorous work on the follow-on Commercial Crew Program. Unfortunately, limited funding has delayed this program in the past and we strongly urge Congress to provide the necessary appropriations to keep the program on schedule. In difficult economic times, extending the offshoring of American jobs to Russian rocket companies is not a practice the American taxpayers should support.”
Read NASA’s full press release on their crew flight contract extension with the Russian Federal Space Agency here.
About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The CSF’s member companies – which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers and service providers – are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director Alex Saltman at saltman@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.347.1096.
