The decline of America. Thanks for effectively ending our space program, Barack. That money’s better spent supporting lazy people on perpetual welfare anyway.

Nasa have posted new job openings for the first time since the final space shuttle launch – but recruits must pass a Russian language test.

The agency is calling for members of the armed forced – the traditional base of recruits – for astronauts to serve on the International Space Station.

But, since the U.S. no longer has a manned rocket programme, the only way to get there is aboard a aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule – meaning a knowledge of their language is essential…

…Americans hoping to get to space will first have to travel 5,500 miles to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan.

On the Nasa website, Armed forces members are asked to apply to their respective services, ranging from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and even the Coast Guard.

In the future America will have to rely either on other countries or private endeavors to reach space. But private vehicles remain on the nation’s drawing boards and even optimistic projections indicate launch dates around 2016 or later. For now we’re forced to rely on Russia to get us into space.