{"id":19101,"date":"2017-01-17T19:35:11","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T11:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-looks-into-buying-more-russian-soyuz-trips-to-orbit-through-boeing\/"},"modified":"2017-01-17T19:35:11","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T11:35:11","slug":"nasa-looks-into-buying-more-russian-soyuz-trips-to-orbit-through-boeing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-looks-into-buying-more-russian-soyuz-trips-to-orbit-through-boeing\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA looks into buying more Russian Soyuz trips to orbit \u2026 through Boeing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image:
A Russian Soyuz craft approaches the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA is considering a convoluted arrangement to reserve five more seats on Russian Soyuz capsules heading to and from the International Space Station, with the Boeing Co. as the middleman.<\/p>\n

The plan to reserve more trips to orbit would give NASA additional breathing room as it waits for Boeing and SpaceX to complete the development of their commercial space taxis.<\/p>\n

The first crewed test flights of those space taxis aren\u2019t scheduled to occur until 2018. And in a procurement notice issued today, NASA acknowledged that they are \u201cnot expected to begin fully operational flights to the ISS until 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA has made a limited number of reservations on Soyuz craft in 2018, at a cost of more than $80 million per seat. But there\u2019s not much of a margin to deal with further delays in the commercial crew schedule.<\/p>\n

By a strange set of circumstances, Boeing could help fill the gap, even if its own CST-100 Starliner spacecraft isn\u2019t yet ready to fly.<\/p>\n