According to the representative of the space agency Joel Montalbano, the launch of a new generation of spacecraft from Boeing should not be expected until mid-autumn. Earlier it became known about serious technical problems that the device encountered.
The head of the American ISS program, Joel Montalbano , announced the new launch dates for the CST-100 spacecraft. "This will definitely take place after the launch of the Lucy mission," he said. The purpose of the mission is to study the asteroids of the Solar system. They want to launch it on October 16. Thus, the launch of a new manned vehicle should not be expected until mid-autumn.
On July 29, NASA announced that it had decided to postpone the unmanned launch of the spacecraft to the ISS scheduled for the 30th. The transfer was associated with the unplanned activation of the engines of the new Russian module "Nauka", which was recently docked with the International Space Station. According to the new schedule, the ship was supposed to be launched in early August, but the launch was eventually postponed again.
Later it became known that the reason was serious technical difficulties, namely, problems with engine valves. After the examination, the CST-100 Starliner was decided to detach from the Atlas V carrier and move to the training workshop.
The Starliner was developed to supply the ISS under the NASA Commercial Crew Transportation Capability program. It is designed for a crew of seven people and has a mass of 13 tons.
The ship made its first unmanned launch on December 20, 2019. It was not fully successful: due to technical problems, the device was not docked with the ISS and returned home. Subsequent analysis showed that his condition is generally satisfactory.
CST-100 Starliner
Image source: Boeing
The competitor of the CST-100 is a manned spacecraft from SpaceX Crew Dragon, built on the basis of the Dragon unmanned cargo vehicle.
Elon Musk's company significantly bypasses Boeing. In April, Crew Dragon completed its second operational mission to the ISS. In total, taking into account the test launch, the device made four launches. The first of them was held on March 2, 2019.
Crew Dragon
Image source: SpaceX
Conceptually close to the CST-100 and Crew Dragon, a manned spacecraft is being created in Russia. At various times, it had the designation PTK NP, "Federation" and "Eagle". If nothing changes, flight tests of the device in an unmanned version will begin in 2023. The first manned flight can be carried out in 2025.
Last year, it became known that a smaller version can be created on the basis of the ship, which can be used for flights to the Moon. This variant was called "Eaglet".
