IIRC-—There are 2 docking ports.
ONE fits ONLY Soviet machinery.
The other fits ONLY American machinery.
THIS IS A MULTI-BILLION CF.
Not really. The Soviet design is old, NASA had to match it.
The American designs are newer, different. Certainly not based on the Soviet specs.
Hence, to style of ports.
“-—There are 2 docking ports.
ONE fits ONLY Soviet machinery.
The other fits ONLY American machinery.
THIS IS A MULTI-BILLION CF.”
The Russians have their side and the USA side is different. The Russians have four ports they use a 1960s era probe style port that Soyuz, ATV, and progress modules use the ESA and Russians. Those ports are not IDA compliant. The American side has two international docking adapter compliant ports one has a Dragon on it the other has starleaker trapped on it. There are also four CBM ports on the American side. CBM are not docking ports they are common berthing module ports. You have to use the robotic arm to capture the module and then berth it to a CBM. This is how Cygnus cargo module is docked right now to the ISS. There are three other CBM spots only two of them can be reached by the robotic arm. NASA could send up a PMA which is how you turn a CBM into a older 95type shuttle port then put a IDA compliant ring on it. This is how the two existing docking ports were made. I don’t think NASA has any PMA left they used three already of the four built one was lost when it’s booster went down.
The choices are send up a Dragon with 6 seats it was designed to hold 7 from the very beginning. Send up a Dragon with only two and shaft two astronauts their spots. Or use Soyuz spacecraft and pay the Russians. NASA suits are compatible with Soyuz but not Dragon so they would need to send up two Dragon type suits for a Dragon ride home. Plus the Boeing craft is stuck to the IDA ring it has the active side of the port and some mental giant didn’t include the software needed to remotely unlock it.someone has to be inside stsrsucker to undock it then spacewalk back to ISS if they don’t want to ride it down to earth....I would rather risk the spacewalk th an ride that crap craft down. It’s gonna burn up for sure he has odds gotta be good on that.