NASA vetoes year-long station stays

WASHINGTON, April 20 (UPI) -- NASA has turned down a Russian request to double the length of International Space Station stays to a full year.

Russia proposed in late March doubling the length of space station visits so it could set aside one Soyuz launch a year for two paying customers -- either so-called space tourists like Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth or European astronauts sponsored by their home countries, BBC News Online reported.

NASA officials said they are not opposed to longer stays in principle, but October was too soon to make such a significant change.

With the space shuttle fleet grounded, the three-seat Soyuz capsule is the only means of transporting crew members to and from the station. Russia has been launching the vehicles twice a year, with two of the three seats occupied by a Russian cosmonaut and U.S. astronaut, heading to the station for six-month stays. Only the third seat is for sale. Extending crew stays by six months would allow Russia to fill one Soyuz a year with two paying passengers instead of a fresh expedition crew.

On Monday a Soyuz rocket launched Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke. Padalka and Fincke are scheduled to remain onboard the station until October, while Kuipers will return in about a week with crew members Michael Foale and Alexander Kaleri.