Tag: Commercial Crew
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Video: Groundbreaking for commercial crew access tower
There was a groundbreaking Friday at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 to start building the astronaut access tower to board Boeing’s CST-100 capsules atop United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets.
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Astronauts prep space station for commercial capsules
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS “SPACE PLACE” & USED WITH PERMISSION Astronauts Terry Virts (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) work outside the International Space Station on Saturday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Terry Virts floated outside the International Space Station Saturday and installed wiring needed for two new docking mechanisms that will be…
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Astronauts, spacesuits ready for spacewalk Saturday
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS “SPACE PLACE” & USED WITH PERMISSION Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Terry Virts will begin a series of three spacewalks Saturday. Credit: NASA NASA space station managers decided Thursday to delay the first two of three planned spacewalks by one day to give flight controllers and engineers a chance to catch their…
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NASA presses Congress for more commercial crew funding
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden speaks to reporters during a Jan. 26 press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz The Obama administration has requested more than $1.2 billion from congressional appropriators next year to meet NASA’s funding commitments for Boeing and SpaceX’s commercial crew ferry spacecraft, and anything less could delay…
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SpaceX nears pad abort test for human-rated Dragon capsule
SpaceX has released this photo of the Dragon spacecraft for the pad abort test. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is finishing up preparations for a major test of a rocket-powered abort system for the company’s new Dragon crew ferry spacecraft, targeting launch from Cape Canaveral in March after a pair of Falcon 9 missions in February. The…
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NASA expects continued use of Soyuz in era of commercial spaceships
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS “SPACE PLACE” & USED WITH PERMISSION A Soyuz spacecraft is pictured docked at the International Space Station. Credit: NASA NASA hopes to begin launching U.S. and partner astronauts to the space station aboard Boeing and SpaceX ferry craft in the 2017 timeframe, but agency managers expect to continue sending crew members up…
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Atlas 5 launch pad being prepared for astronaut crews
Artist’s concept of an Atlas 5 rocket and CST-100 crew capsule on the launch pad. Credit: United Launch Alliance Work on Boeing’s CST-100 commercial crew capsule will ramp up at the program’s new home base in Florida this year, with construction of a crew access tower at the Atlas 5 rocket’s launch pad underway and…
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Boeing expected to win first operational space taxi order
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik participates in a fit check in a mock-up of Boeing’s CST-100 capsule. Credit: Boeing Boeing is poised to win NASA’s first order for operational commercial missions to send up astronauts to the International Space Station, a NASA official said Monday. The aerospace giant is one of two companies NASA selected to…
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SpaceX confirms first Crew Dragon flights will return to ocean landings
File photo of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule descending under its three main parachutes. Credit: SpaceX The human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft being developed by SpaceX will return to Earth under parachutes for splashdowns in the ocean, and not execute helicopter-like propulsive touchdowns on land, a SpaceX official confirmed Monday. SpaceX unveiled the Crew Dragon spaceship —…
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Boeing, SpaceX on track for commercial crew flights to station in 2017
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS “SPACE PLACE” & USED WITH PERMISSION File photo of the International Space Station as seen by a space shuttle crew in 2010. Credit: NASA NASA expects to spend some $5 billion underwriting development of commercial spacecraft built by Boeing and SpaceX to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, officials…