Fantastic news! The inability to buy stuff directly from the Russians has been a real pain.<br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Really curious what the implications of this are going to be. Is the Shuttle going to be thrown away effective immediately?<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />No. The Shuttle remains vital for delivery and installation of the really large components. But Soyuz can substitute for the Shuttle's crew replacement capabilities, and that's what NASA is interested in. Russia is having serious problems funding it; NASA would rather buy Soyuz spacecraft than have the ISS wind up temporarily uncrewed. <br /><br />EDIT: I let my enthusiasm get the better of me. I reread the article. This doesn't let NASA buy Soyuz spacecraft, but does allow them to buy other hardware or services related to the ISS until 2012. It might allow NASA to work out a barter arrangement with Rosaviacosmos; they can buy various components equal to the value of a Soyuz. But it would be simpler to just buy Soyuz directly. According to the article, legislators are considering permitting that. I hope they do. It would make things simpler. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em> -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>