NASA Breaking Ties With Russian Space Agency, Frames Choice as Between ‘Fully Funding’ NASA Program or Sending ‘Millions of Dollars to the Russians’

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
[NASA] wants to end its “reluctant
co-dependence” with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, because
of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Yesterday The Verge

reported, based on an internal memo, that NASA had suspended
all contact with Russian government officials but that operations
surrounding the International Space Station [ISS] were excepted.
NASA then issued a statement confirming the suspensions,
reiterating its intention to continue cooperating on the ISS, and
adding a pitch for the Obama administration. Via Google
Plus:

NASA is laser focused on a plan to return human
spaceflight launches to American soil, and end our reliance on
Russia to get into space.  This has been a top priority of the
Obama Administration’s for the past five years, and had our plan
been fully funded, we would have returned American human
spaceflight launches – and the jobs they support – back to the
United States next year.  With the reduced level of funding
approved by Congress, we’re now looking at launching from U.S. soil
in 2017.  The choice here is between fully funding the plan to
bring space launches back to America or continuing to send millions
of dollars to the Russians.  It’s that simple.  The Obama
Administration chooses to invest in America – and we are hopeful
that Congress will do the same.

Richard Nixon announced NASA would be working on a space shuttle
system in 1972. With the first flight in 1981, the program was
supposed to operate for 15 years. It was scheduled for a 2010
retirement by George Bush in 2004, but Congress extended funding
for flights through 2011. NASA’s current plan has been to shift to
commercial spacecraft, something Congress has been reluctant
to do. NASA already relies on commercial spacecraft for

supplying the ISS—will any company be interested in meeting the
demand for ferrying astronauts to low Earth orbit absent the
subsidies that NASA’s “full funding” provides?

Check out Reason‘s February 2012 space issue here.