Russia now charges NASA $70 million per seat to fly US astronauts

Reports claiming that Russia is charging NASA $70 million per seat to fly U.S. astronauts into space arose Wednesday prompting the agency's administrator to blame Congress for the expense.

Vibe reports that ever since the U.S. decided to end its Shuttle Program, Russia became the only means of transportation between earth and the space station.

Following the recent increase in price per seats in an interstellar flight -- from $65 million to $70 million -- NASA administrator Charles Bolden, is urging Congress to pass the bill that would enable the U.S. Shuttle Program.

"Because the funding for the President's plan has been significantly reduced, we now won't be able to support American launches until 2017," Bolden, a former shuttle commander, wrote in a NASA blog.

If Congress does not support NASA's 2014 request for a Commercial Crew Program, the agency will be forced to renew their contract with Russia, which will result in fees of $424 million to send six astronauts into space.