The Russian space agency has announced that from the year 2006 they would only carry US astronauts to the International Space Station "on a commercial basis". The agency has a much smaller budget than NASA.
The Russian space agency has serviced the International Space Station on its own since the US grounded their space shuttles after the Columbia shuttle disaster. They sent two manned and five cargo spaceships to the ISS during 2004.
Agency head Anatoly Perminov said: "The Russian side shouldered the entire burden... for nearly two years. Starting from 2006, we shall bring American astronauts to the ISS on a commercial basis."
