NASA/Joel Kowsky NASA, already in a serious financial pickle with the Russians, may soon look to Boeing for help. When the space agency retired its last space shuttle in July 2011, it expected commercial carriers like SpaceX and Boeing to launch its astronauts into space by 2015. But both SpaceX and Boeing hit snags with the development of their rockets and spaceships, slipping that schedule by at least 3 years, according to a September 2016 audit by NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG). This left NASA with one option for getting astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) through 2018: a Russian spacecraft called the Soyuz. Russia has taken full advantage of its temporary monopoly by charging NASA ever-more-exorbitant sums for those Soyuz seats — yet the problem for NASA might soon get worse. As Eric Berger reported at Ars Technica, NASA issued a new solicitation on January 17 to buy two more Soyuz seats from Boeing, plus "an option to acquire crew transportation from Boeing for three crewmembers on the Soyuz in 2019." In other words: NASA may end up buying five tickets aboard the Soyuz from Boeing. If that sounds a little convoluted, particularly since Boeing's spacecraft development delays helped drive NASA to this conundrum in the first place, welcome to the current state of human spaceflight. As Berger notes at Ars Technica, RSC Energia — the Russian entity that makes and launches Soyuz rockets and spacecraft — recently settled a $320 million lawsuit with Boeing.
Similar Stories to Nasa May Pay Boeing As A Middleman To Launch 5 Astronauts On Russian Spacecraft on Bing News
dmosher+queries@businessinsider.com (Dave Mosher), Business Insider
Wed, 01/18/2017 - 1:06pm
Topics: russians july nasa's office inspector general oig international space station iss as eric berger january as berger rsc energia a nasa representatives roscosmos nasa oig assuming nasa spacex's dragon cst-100 starliner russian space agency commercial crew program watch nasa nasa/joel kowsky russian russia boeing spacex sept nasa's in iss iss soyuz ars technica iss business insider u.s launch astronauts seats million billion seat cost delays ensure additional tickets contract years audit transportation development option charge shuttle rockets report price solicitation crewmembers services buy provide aboard roughly year
BING NEWS:
- Boeing tries first astronaut launch on delayed NASA test flight again
Boeing's company’s ... that went unnoticed until the first launch attempt with a crew in early May. NASA wants a backup to SpaceX, which has been flying astronauts for four years.
06/1/2024 - 3:46 pm | View Link - Boeing and NASA call off launch of Starliner spacecraft
Starliner is the result of Boeing’s efforts ... president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, agreed on the importance of having more than one spacecraft flying astronauts to the International ...
06/1/2024 - 10:34 am | View Link - Launch of NASA Astronauts in Boeing’s Starliner Is Scrubbed
Early Saturday evening, NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance ... For nine years, astronauts could get to the International Space Station only aboard Russian Soyuz rockets. Then in May 2020, two ...
06/1/2024 - 7:12 am | View Link - Boeing Starliner launch scheduled to take NASA astronauts to ISS scrubbed
Editor's Note: The Boeing Starliner launch has been scrubbed for Saturday June 1st. Click here for the latest information. After a series of delays, the first crewed mission of Boeing’s CST-100 ...
05/31/2024 - 1:00 pm | View Link - Boeing will try again to launch astronauts on its spaceship this weekend
Boeing is preparing to launch its Starliner spacecraft on a key test flight with two NASA astronauts onboard, following a canceled attempt and many other delays and setbacks.
05/29/2024 - 11:42 am | View Link - More
Welcome to Wopular
Wopular is an
online newspaper rack,
giving you a summary view of the top headlines from the top news sites.
Senh Duong (Founder)
Wopular,
MWB,
RottenTomatoes
MoviesWithButter : Our Sister Site
- "Expendables 4" Starts Shooting This Fall, Says Randy Couture at the Arnold Sports Festival more
- “Expendables 4” Gets Funding Interest from “Ip Man 3” Financier more
- "Ip Man 3" Distributor Suspected of Box Office Fraud, Parent Company Loses $200M in Market Cap more
- Yen Targets "Ip Man 4" for 2018 Release; Discusses Film with Director, Producer more
- "Ip Man 3" Shatters Expectations with $72M Opening [China Box Office] more