Boeing: Third docking adapter (IDA-3) for ISS

NASA has awarded a $9 million contract to Boeing to build an International Docking Adapter (IDA) to allow the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and other commercial vehicles to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).

Preliminary production for the third Boeing-built docking adapter, designated IDA-3, is currently underway in Houston.

IDA-3 will be built at the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. It will replace IDA-1 which was lost during the SpaceX CRS-7 launch failure on June 28, 2015.

Boeing maximized the use of existing or residual spare parts from the original IDA development and offered NASA an affordable solution that made the best use of those assets.

As NASA's prime contractor for ISS, Boeing is also helping NASA manage the transition to support commercial spacecraft, which is the most extensive space station reconfiguration since the end of the space shuttle era in 2011.

IDA is a key stepping stone to the future of the ISS and deep space exploration. March 2017 is the planned delivery date for IDA-3.