NASA the week of Aug. 3 awarded Russia a contract modification for additional rides to the International Space Station (ISS) while the Senate passed a Commercial Space Launch bill that supports extending United States participation in ISS through the end of fiscal year 2024.
NASA awarded Russian civil space agency Roscosmos a $490 million modification for six additional rides to ISS. NASA spokesman David Weaver said Aug. 6 in an email the contract modification is for six additional Soyuz seats at the price of approximately $81.8 million per seat. Weaver also said the contract modification ensures a U.S. presence on ISS through launch in 2018 and landing in spring 2019, with the possibility of services through 2020.
In an Aug. 5 letter to congressional lawmakers posted on NASA’s website, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden blamed Congress for shortchanging NASA’s Commercial Crew program, which has a goal of delivering astronauts to ISS on U.S. rockets by 2017. Bolden said though Congress has incrementally increased annual funding for Commercial Crew, it has not adequately funded the program. The House, on June 3, approved $1 billion for Commercial crew–$244 million less than NASA requested. Senate appropriators on June 11 approved a NASA spending bill that provided nearly $334 million less than requested for Commercial Crew.
Bolden said reductions from the fiscal year 2016 Commercial Crew request proposed in the House and Senate appropriations bills that cover NASA would likely result in funds running out for both contractors, Boeing [BA] and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), during the spring/summer of FY ’16. Bolden said if this occurs, the existing fixed-price Commercial Crew contracts may need to be renegotiated, likely resulting in further schedule slippage and increased cost.
Bolden said his plan, originally submitted to Congress in 2010, would have returned U.S. delivery of astronauts to ISS by 2015 if provided with proper funding. As this has not worked according to plan, NASA continues its reliance on Russia and its Soyuz spacecraft as its crew transport vehicle for getting to ISS.
The Senate on Aug. 4 passed its version of a Commercial Space Launch bill. The bill modifies the 2010 NASA Authorization Act to “support full and complete utilization of ISS” through at least Sept. 30, 2024. The bill also tackles liability insurance and financial responsibility requirements, directing the transportation secretary to evaluate and, if necessary, develop a plan to update the methodology used to calculate the maximum probable loss from claims.
According to section 50914 of title 51, U.S. Code, when a launch or reentry license is issued or transfer, the licensee or transferee shall obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in certain amounts to compensate for the maximum probably loss from claims. Section 50914 says for total claims related to one launch or reentry, a licensee or transferee is not required to obtain insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility of more than $500 million for third party death, bodily injury or property damage or loss. They are also not required to carry more than $100 million in coverage for claims by the federal government against a person for damage or loss to government property.
Both the Senate and House have left Washington for the August recess. They return the week of September 7.