Reply #7: Kourou could be soon a platform for manned space Flight [View All]

[Radio_free_america]

This commercial transaction began because cuts in ISS budget by Bush.

So ESA and Russians chose to intensify partenership because they said that US space program is far too much tied to diplomatic or politic turn over.
See the shuttle, budget cuts and accident.
At this time only Russians can continu human space flight.

How planify a international projet like Casini, or ISS with a Nation who change his space program every 4 years like Bush did ?
Europeans, Japaneses and Russians don't like too much bulding ISS a US project at the beguining, and pay for it quite alone a few years later.

It's the first reason of soyouz at Kourou spaceport. Second is of course, more payload on the same rocket.