MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Russian space agency Roscosmos plans to deliver 15 astronauts to orbit if its current contract with NASA is extended, Roscosmos chief Igor Komarov said on Saturday in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"Until the end of this year and next year we will be taking cosmonauts and astronauts to the ISS (International Space Station). There is also understanding that this contract may be extended throughout 2019, meaning that we are guaranteed to take no less than 15 astronauts," he said.

After the US ended its shuttle program in 2011, US astronauts travel to the International Space Station aboard Russia’s Soyuz manned spacecraft. The agreement is valid until 2019.