Tag: Commercial Crew
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NASA announces target date for first SpaceX Crew Dragon flight
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Artist’s concept of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: NASA SpaceX is targeting Jan. 7 for launch of its first Crew Dragon commercial ferry ship on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, NASA announced Wednesday, a major milestone in the…
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Atlas 5 rocket begins arriving in Florida for commercial crew test flight
The dual-engine Centaur upper stage assigned to the first launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is transported from ULA’s Mariner vessel to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday. Credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland The Centaur upper stage destined to send Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner crew capsule into orbit on its first unpiloted test flight next year has…
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Safety panel says much work left to do before commercial crew ships fly
A test model of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft descends under four main parachutes over Naval Air Facility El Centro in Southern California during a drop test earlier this year. The Crew Dragon will normally return to splash down at sea, but this test gathered data on the parachutes’ performance during an abort that would force…
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No commercial crew test flights expected this year
Artist’s concept of the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon (lower left and upper right). Credit: NASA BREMEN, Germany — NASA has released new target dates for test flights of commercial crew capsules in development by SpaceX and Boeing, with unpiloted demo missions by SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spaceships now scheduled for January…
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SpaceX finalizing Pad 39A upgrades for return to crew operations
SpaceX is finishing its years-long campaign to return Launch Pad 39A to crew operations. Following the installation of the Crew Access Arm (CAA), workers have now relocated the Shuttle-era slidewire baskets support structure to a higher level on the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) on Pad 39A. Additionally, although it is not required for crew operations,…
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Station crew faces busy schedule as commercial crew schedule ramps up
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION The entire six-member Expedition 56 crew gathers in the Cupola, the International Space Station’s “window to the world,” for a team portrait. In the front row, from left, are NASA astronauts Serena Auñon-Chancellor, Commander Drew Fuestel and Ricky Arnold. Behind them, from left, are Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev…
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SpaceX’s astronaut walkway installed on Florida launch pad
SpaceX’s crew access arm is in its retracted position at launch pad 39A after installation Monday. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now The walkway astronauts will use to board SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule before missions to the International Space Station was added to historic launch pad 39A on Monday. A crane erected at the seaside…
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Crew walkway arrives at launch pad 39A in Florida
The crew access arm on the deck of launch pad 39A awaits its installation. Photo: Ken Kremer/spaceupclose.com. The access arm astronauts will transit when boarding SpaceX’s Crew Dragon commercial capsule has arrived at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photos of the access arm shared on social media show it arrived…
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NASA signs off on SpaceX’s “load-and-go” procedure for crew launches
A prototype of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule completed a pad abort test at Cape Canaveral in May 2015. Credit: SpaceX The NASA manager overseeing development of Boeing and SpaceX’s commercial crew ferry ships says the space agency has approved SpaceX’s proposal to strap in astronauts atop Falcon 9 rockets, then fuel the launchers in the…
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NASA reveals crews for first flights of commercial spaceships
NASA introduces the astronauts assigned to the first flights of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now NASA announced Friday a mix of spaceflight veterans and rookie astronauts who will launch on the first flights of new Boeing and SpaceX commercial spaceships starting as soon as next spring, several months…