With the grounding of the U.S. space shuttle fleet, NASA has resorted to hitching a ride on something safe and proven; Russian rockets.

"Basically, it came to this: Right now there is only one ship that can take a crew to the international space station, and it's ours," said Sergei Gorbunov, spokesman for Russia's space agency. "Russia has to do it. No one else, not even the Americans, can right now."

Russian space agents must be beaming with the sort of pride they had when they were kicking our ass in the space race.

With its space budget a fraction of what it was in the Soviet era, Russia has struggled to find ways to earn cash for its program. It sold two trips to space in 2001 and 2002 for about $20 million each.

You'd never see NASA do that. They've got the cash cow of the American taxpayer to keep them funded for years to come. And with recent management decisions being put under the microscope since the Columbia tragedy, finances are the least of their worries.