“We had a lot of fun,” the American astronaut Swanson declared before heading home. The cooperation between US and Russia to transport the American crew will remain valid for at least another few years. But NASA received permission to arrange its own way to transport in space. It is expected to announce soon, this month, which U.S. companies it will fund for this astronaut taxi service by the end of 2017. Since the first expedition arrival in 2000, the International Space Station – a joint project among five participating space agencies – has been continuously occupied by astronauts from 15 different nations.
This year, in September 25, The Russian Space Agency will launch a new crew including a Russian woman, Elena Serova, the first Russian woman in space in nearly two decades.
