Boeing aerospace company's Starliner spacecraft, slated to transport crews to the International Space Station (ISS), may be taken into orbit by launch vehicles such as United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur after running out of Atlas V rockets, Starliner vice president and program manager Mark Nappi said on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2022) Boeing aerospace company's Starliner spacecraft, slated to transport crews to the International Space Station (ISS), may be taken into orbit by launch vehicles such as United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur after running out of Atlas V rockets, Starliner vice president and program manager Mark Nappi said on Thursday.
"We are certainly looking at the launch vehicle integration for when we run out of Atlases... so yes, that's actively in work and our teams are working with the launch vehicle providers for that and we'll be having to make a decision probably sometime early next year on what we're going to go do moving forward," Nappi said during a press briefing when asked whether the program is considering certifying Vulcan Centaurs for Starliner.
Starliner in May completed its first successful docking with the ISS in a launch meant to bring the spacecraft closer to certification to carry astronauts. The mission was the spacecraft's second test flight, delivering a cargo payload to the ISS.
Starliner is manufactured for use in NASA's Commercial Crew Program, for which Elon Musk's SpaceX also provides Dragon 2 spacecraft. The spacecraft are owned and operated by the providers to provide NASA with commercial service.
United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, currently operates the Atlas V launch system used for the Starliner, but announced in August 2021 that they will be retiring the rocket soon.
