Tag: Commercial Crew
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SpaceX abort test serves as practice run for astronauts, rescue teams
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 11 p.m. EST Jan. 16 (0400 GMT Jan. 17) after Falcon 9 was raised vertical. NASA astronaut Doug Hurley participates in a 2019 training event to rehearse pre-launch crew operations for a Crew Dragon mission. Credit: SpaceX A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule were raised vertical at launch pad…
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Boeing releases in-cabin video from Starliner’s orbital test flight
Boeing has released a highlights reel video from in-cabin cameras on the December orbital test flight of an unpiloted Starliner crew capsule, showing views astronauts might experience on future missions. The video includes views out the window of the Starliner spacecraft during its early morning liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Dec.…
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Boeing expects ‘minimal refurbishment’ on reusable Starliner crew capsule
Boeing’s first space-ready Starliner crew capsule, named Calypso, is back inside the company’s assembly facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a two-day orbital test flight in December. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now While NASA and Boeing engineers investigate the cause of a software error that cut short the first orbital test…
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Video: Preview of dramatic Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test
SpaceX’s final planned Crew Dragon test flight before astronauts ride the commercial spaceship into orbit is scheduled for Saturday, when an unpiloted crew capsule will fire off the top of a Falcon 9 rocket shortly after launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to test the craft’s in-flight emergency escape capability. This video illustrates…
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SpaceX test-fires rocket ahead of Crew Dragon in-flight abort test
Credit: Steven Young / Spaceflight Now SpaceX fired up nine Merlin main engines at the bottom of a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster Saturday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, running the rocket through a practice countdown before a scheduled liftoff Jan. 18 with a Crew Dragon capsule to test the human-rated ship’s high-altitude abort capability. The…
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Live coverage: SpaceX prepares for Crew Dragon in-flight abort test
Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will loft an unpiloted Crew Dragon spacecraft on a high-altitude test of the capsule’s launch abort system. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Credit: Steven Young / Spaceflight…
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SpaceX reschedules crew capsule in-flight abort test for Jan. 18
SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is pictured being prepared for an in-flight abort test inside of a SpaceX processing facility at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Four of the capsule’s SuperDraco abort thrusters are visible in this image. Credit: SpaceX Credit: SpaceX The final major test of the high-power launch abort engines on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft…
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Photos: Atlas 5 blasts off at dawn with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule
Take a look back on the liftoff of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its first unpiloted orbital test flight Dec. 20 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with these photos showing the capsule streaking into space at dawn. The 172-foot-tall (52.4-meter) Atlas 5 rocket — flying in a new human-rated configuration — lifted off…
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Photos: Boeing’s Starliner ends shortened mission with landing in New Mexico
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft parachuted to an airbag-cushioned landing in New Mexico on Dec. 22 to conclude an abbreviated two-day test orbital test flight that accomplished many objectives, but missed a planned rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. The human-rated crew capsule — flying without astronauts for its first trip into space — landed…
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Boeing’s Starliner capsule lands after missing rendezvous with space station
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is seen after landing Sunday at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls An unpiloted demonstration flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule ended prematurely Sunday with a smooth airbag-cushioned predawn landing in New Mexico after a timing glitch prevented it from docking with the International Space Station, leaving some…