Astronauts Will Have to Hitch Rides With the Russians

When NASA retires its fleet of space shuttles in 2010, the agency will have no way of sending men into space until 2015, at the earliest, the Washington Post reports. To carry astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, largely funded by American taxpayers, the US will have to rely on the only other country that can send men into space: Russia. And we'll have to pay for the privilege.

One Florida Senator blamed the administration for being unwilling to adequately fund NASA. “Now, we’ll be forced to give billions to the Russians because we didn’t spend millions before,” he said. “It’s the worst of all worlds.” One private company, SpaceX, says that with enough backing it can have a ship ready by 2012, but NASA is skeptical. (More NASA stories.)