Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
It is truly mind-blowing how much can change in just ten years. How a single company, moving faster than anyone expected, can completely flip the balance of power between nations that once dominated space. A decade ago, the idea of the United States depending on Russia just to reach the International Space Station felt almost humiliating. This was the same country that had landed humans on the Moon, built reusable spaceplanes, and led nearly every major milestone in space exploration. And yet, after retiring the Space Shuttle in 2011, the U.S. suddenly had no way to send astronauts to orbit on its own.
There was no backup plan. No domestic crew vehicle ready. So NASA had no choice but to go to Russia.
For nearly nine years, American astronauts flew exclusively on Russian Soyuz rockets. Every launch came from Kazakhstan. Every landing ended on the steppes. The U.S. paid Russia tens of millions of dollars per seat, and over time that price kept rising. What started at around 20 million dollars per astronaut eventually climbed to as much as 70 million. For a country that once defined spaceflight, this dependence was deeply uncomfortable.
Russia, meanwhile, had leverage. And it showed.
Russian officials openly mocked the situation. At one point, a senior Russian space leader joked that if the U.S. wanted to reach the station, maybe it should try a trampoline. At the time, it didn’t sound completely ridiculous. Russia had the rockets. The U.S. didn’t.
But while Russia enjoyed that moment, something important was happening quietly in the background.
It is truly mind-blowing how much can change in just ten years. How a single company, moving faster than anyone expected, can completely flip the balance of power between nations that once dominated space. A decade ago, the idea of the United States depending on Russia just to reach the International Space Station felt almost humiliating. This was the same country that had landed humans on the Moon, built reusable spaceplanes, and led nearly every major milestone in space exploration. And yet, after retiring the Space Shuttle in 2011, the U.S. suddenly had no way to send astronauts to orbit on its own.
There was no backup plan. No domestic crew vehicle ready. So NASA had no choice but to go to Russia.
For nearly nine years, American astronauts flew exclusively on Russian Soyuz rockets. Every launch came from Kazakhstan. Every landing ended on the steppes. The U.S. paid Russia tens of millions of dollars per seat, and over time that price kept rising. What started at around 20 million dollars per astronaut eventually climbed to as much as 70 million. For a country that once defined spaceflight, this dependence was deeply uncomfortable.
Russia, meanwhile, had leverage. And it showed.
Russian officials openly mocked the situation. At one point, a senior Russian space leader joked that if the U.S. wanted to reach the station, maybe it should try a trampoline. At the time, it didn’t sound completely ridiculous. Russia had the rockets. The U.S. didn’t.
But while Russia enjoyed that moment, something important was happening quietly in the background.
