SpaceX has agreed to his second flight manned spacecraft to the ISS – Lenta.ru

NASA awarded to SpaceX contract for the second manned mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This Saturday, December 19, said the US aerospace agency.

«After receiving the certificate of NASA CST-100 Starliner Boeing and manned spacecraft Dragon company SpaceX will be able to annually deliver to the station two people”, – said the manager of a commercial NASA manned Katie Lueders.

The contract for the first manned flight with SpaceX NASA concluded 20th of November. Earlier, in May 2015, the order in the program to attract private companies to develop new manned systems received aircraft manufacturing concern Boeing.

NASA expects that commercial manned mission to the ISS using the ship Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Dragon restore US capability to participate in manned space flight and will increase the amount of time devoted to research on board the orbiting laboratory.

00:57 July 25, 2015

According to the calculations of NASA, commercial manned launch of this the program eventually will cost the United States is cheaper than having to pay for the delivery of Russian Space Agency astronaut to the ISS. It is expected that the practical implementation of it will begin in 2017. However, the agency warns, if not received the required financing in full in 2016 and subsequent years, will have to continue to use the services of Russia for the delivery of astronauts into orbit.

Orders are made within the framework of the twenty three years before the dates of the alleged starts to each company there is enough time for production and assembly of the launch vehicle and spacecraft. Also involved companies must successfully complete all the necessary certification procedures before NASA will give the final approval for the flight. Each contract provides for the possibility to provide two to six missions.

The spacecraft, according to the requirements, will have to be transported to the station up to four astronauts and 100 kg of cargo. He will remain docked to the station for up to 210 days and be ready to use as a means of emergency evacuation to Earth in case of need.

In 2014, NASA selected company SpaceX and Boeing for the construction of manned spacecraft CST-100 (Starliner) and Dragon V2. The total cost of their creation is estimated at $ 4.2 billion for Boeing and $ 2.6 billion to SpaceX.

Currently, people on the ISS delivers only one manned spacecraft – “Soyuz TMA-M” . It is designed and manufactured space-rocket corporation “Energy” in the Moscow suburb of Korolev.