On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 13:35:40 -0800, "Bill Bonde ( the oblique allusion
in lieu of the frontal attack )" wrote:

The "danger" from planning a gap between shuttle and CEV, and announcing
that Soyuz will fill it, is price-gouging by the Russians once the shuttle
is retired and the US has no alternatives.

Price gouging? Couldn't the Russians charge ten times what they've been
charging and still save NASA a boat load of money over using Shuttle?

Depends on what they've been charging, which seems to be something of
a mystery. But the answer is probably 'no'. It takes three Soyuz to
duplicate one Shuttle, and that's just for the crew. Add the 20,000
lbs of cargo a Shuttle offers, and Soyuz/Progress lose some of their
luster. It's still certainly cheaper, but not 1/10th the Shuttle's
costs to achieve the same results.

Brian