I understand that the current use of the Soyuz vehicle is a nice way to get to the ISS in about five or six hours. I was wondering if there were any plans under development for using another vehicle elsewhere (Florida or wherever) to transport humans to the ISS other than or in addition to Baikanur in the future.
1 Answer
Yes.
I'll assume we are talking only about crewed vehicles.
In terms of the crew capsule, the StarLiner by Boeing, and the Dragon 2 by SpaceX are both being developed but neither has flown yet. Estimates for when these will be available keep being pushed back to 'next year' it seems.
In terms of launch vehicle the StarLiner Wiki says:
It is to be compatible with multiple launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, Delta IV, and Falcon 9, as well as the planned Vulcan. The initial launch vehicle would be the Atlas V, launched from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
And the Dragon 2 would be launched by the Falcon 9.
Additionally, see the answer to this question for discussion of some of the other cargo carrying vehicles.
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$\begingroup$ Thanks and +1. Do you know of any other launch locations considered other than Cape Canaveral? $\endgroup$– MikeyFeb 13, 2017 at 22:53
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2$\begingroup$ The following locations can be used by the Falcon 9: Cape Canaveral SLC-40, Kennedy Space Center LC-39A, Vandenberg SLC-4E, SpaceX Boca Chica (under construction); I cant find a similar list for the Altas, but i assume it looks similar, minus the Boca Chica location. The ESE can launch the Ariane 5 from French Guiana, but it does not carry people. $\endgroup$ Feb 13, 2017 at 22:59
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$\begingroup$ It would be a bit hard to reach the ISS from Vandenberg (although not impossible in theory). $\endgroup$– jkavalikFeb 14, 2017 at 8:24
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$\begingroup$ @jkavalik I agree. I listed all of the possible Falcon 9 launch locations, forgetting that this question was ISS specific $\endgroup$ Feb 14, 2017 at 14:02