NASA is sure enough that Boeing and SpaceX can safely launch astronauts to the International Space Station by early 2019 to hold off paying Russia to keep flying U.S. crews to the research complex, and one official says a deadline to order parts for new Russian Soyuz crew capsules may have already passed.

Lighting up the pre-dawn sky, a Soyuz rocket roared to life and streaked into orbit Tuesday carrying a Russian cosmonaut and two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, boosting the lab’s crew back to six and the U.S. complement to four NASA-sponsored astronauts.

NASA has put off selecting the winners in a new competition for deals to resupply the International Space Station, prompting the agency to order two more commercial resupply missions from Orbital ATK to satisfy the orbiting lab’s cargo needs into early 2018, bringing the company’s total contract to 10 logistics flights.