Space station delivery options

If Rocketplane Kistler defaults, NASA has four spaceship options for future delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station, and one of those — the space shuttle — retires in 2010. Here are the three other options:

◼︎ Russian Progress and Soyuz

The Russians are under contract with NASA to continue flying astronauts and supplies to the station aboard automated Progress tugs and crewed Soyuz capsules. A system is in place to ensure that, at a minimum, crew and cargo can be flown by the Russians to support the station into the next decade.

◼︎ NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle

The Orion spacecraft, a larger-scale version of the old Apollo craft, is being designed to be able to visit the space station. The four-person vehicle could take crew and minimal amounts of cargo to the outpost if necessary but NASA is hoping private operators will step up to take on that work. The Orion’s first crewed flight is not expected until at least 2014, however, and that’s four years after shuttle retirement.

◼︎ SpaceX Dragon

The upstart California company has taken on part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services seed money to speed development of its capsule-like spacecraft, called the Dragon, which would be capable of delivering people and supplies to the outpost. Development is proceeding toward test flights late this decade or early next. So far, SpaceX has met all of NASA’s deadlines for raising its own money and staying on schedule with spacecraft development.