Tag: Commercial Crew
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NASA inks deal with Roscosmos to ensure continuous U.S. presence on space station
File photo of the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station in March 2019. Credit: NASA With lingering uncertainty about when new U.S. commercial vehicles can regularly carry crews to the space station, NASA said Tuesday it will pay the Russian space agency more than $90 million for a round-trip ticket to the International Space Station…
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Dragon solar array concerns driving duration of first crewed test flight
Artist’s concept of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked at the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be geared up for the long haul when they launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft later this month, but they won’t know exactly how long…
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Dragon astronauts wrap up training, prepare to enter quarantine
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated May 11 with plans for astronauts to quarantine at home, rather than at Johnson Space Center. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken (right) monitor the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket inside Firing Room 4 at the Launch Control Center located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/Kim…
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Video: Demo-2 crew training reel
This video reel offers insights into the training of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley for their launch on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. Behnken and Hurley are scheduled for launch no earlier than May 27 from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The two-man…
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SpaceX aces last Dragon parachute test before crew launch
A Crew Dragon mass simulator descends under four main parachutes during a drop test Friday. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX completed Friday the last drop test of the Dragon crew capsule’s parachutes before the first launch of astronauts on the human-rated ship May 27, while technicians at Cape Canaveral have mated the spacecraft’s crew module with its…
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NASA, SpaceX enters the critical month of May on track to end the gap
With the news SpaceX completed the 27th and the final test of the upgraded Mark-3 parachutes for the Crew Dragon spacecraft on the day of a series of flagship news conferences, there is growing excitement ahead of the return to US domestic crew launch capability as soon as the end of this month. SpaceX’s Demonstration…
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Citing coronavirus, NASA urges public not to travel for launch of astronauts
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks during a presentation in November 2018 at NASA Headquarters announcing the companies that will compete for the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Thursday urged space enthusiasts not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center next month to view the first launch…
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NASA, SpaceX set May 27 as target date for first crew launch
The Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Demo-2 mission is at Cape Canaveral being readied for launch. Credit: SpaceX A decade in the making, NASA and SpaceX have set May 27 as the target launch date for the first crewed space mission to launch into orbit from U.S. soil since the retirement of the space shuttle…
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Bridenstine says Crew Dragon could launch with astronauts at end of May
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks at a bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues event in September 2019. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine says he is “fairly confident” that astronauts can fly to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship at the end of May or early June, pending final parachute tests,…
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After problem-plagued test flight, Boeing will refly crew capsule without astronauts
In this file photo from 2019, technicians prepare Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for fueling before its first unpiloted space mission. Credit: Boeing Boeing officials said Monday the company’s Starliner crew capsule will fly a second time without astronauts after software problems and other issues plagued a first test flight in December, preventing the ship from…