Airstream Astrovan II: the legendary astronaut transport bus got its heir

Now, the path of US astronauts to the International Space Station will begin with a trip in the unique Airstream Astrovan II bus. 

The first Airstream Astrovan model looked like a bullet. This was an important element of space shuttles during the development of astronautics. The bus brought the flight participants to the launch pad. Soon, Russia took over the function of delivering people to the ISS, and everyone forgot about the legendary bus.

Now the need for a unique vehicle has reappeared. The United States wants to deliver astronauts to the station without resorting to the help of Roscosmos. For these purposes, a second version of the Airstream Astrovan was developed. 

In December last year, the test flight of the Starliner capsule ended in failure: it did not enter the required orbit. Very soon, the defects will be eliminated, and the astronauts will go to the ISS. The first “stop” will be the Airstream Astrovan II.

The bus has an original interior. It is designed to carry six astronauts in spacesuits. The destination of the bus is Cape Canaveral in Florida. Airstream Astrovan II will cover a distance of 14,5 km.

Visually, the vehicle resembles a camper. It depicts a spaceship that will send astronauts into orbit: the CST-100 Starliner.

There is a lot of space inside the bus so that the astronauts feel comfortable. And so that they would not be bored during a short trip, the vehicle was equipped with a large screen and USB ports.