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Health & Science4h 7m ago

For nearly nine years after the Space Shuttle retired, American astronauts relied on Russian Soyuz capsules to reach the International Space Station, until a private company closed this gap.

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International Space Station, Kennedy Space Center, Kazakhstan

Who
NASA, SpaceX, Orbital Sciences, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Axiom Space, Vast, Voyager Technologies, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken
What
For nearly nine years after the Space Shuttle retired, American astronauts relied on Russian Soyuz capsules to reach the International Space Station, until a private company closed this gap.
When
Mon, 15 Jun 2026 13:55:09 GMT · 4h 7m ago
Where
International Space Station, Kennedy Space Center, Kazakhstan ·
Why
The Space Shuttle retired in July 2011, leaving the U.S. without a spacecraft capable of transporting humans to the ISS, and its replacement program was canceled.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

The reliance on foreign spacecraft for American astronauts to reach the ISS created political and financial strain, which a private company has now mitigated through commercial resupply and crew services.

Story chain

5 events in this thread
  1. Currently Reading4h 7m ago
    For nearly nine years after the Space Shuttle retired, American astronauts relied on Russian Soyuz capsules to reach the International Space Station, until a private company closed this gap.
  2. Health & Science4h 7m ago
    NASA relied on private companies like SpaceX to provide resupply and crew transport to the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle retired in 2011.
    Open article
  3. Health & Science4h 32m ago
    NASA continues to rely solely on SpaceX's Crew Dragon for American crewed access to the International Space Station, as Boeing's Starliner remains grounded following its 2024 test flight and subsequent issues.
    Open article
  4. Health & Science4h 32m ago
    NASA continues to rely solely on SpaceX's Crew Dragon for American crewed access to the International Space Station, despite original plans for two commercial providers.
    Open article
  5. Health & Science4h 32m ago
    NASA currently has only one American-built, human-rated system, SpaceX's Crew Dragon, to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
    Open article

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