Tag: Starliner
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NASA set to purchase more Soyuz seats to ensure uninterrupted access to the ISS
Despite the scheduled return of US domestic crew launch capability this year, NASA is set to purchase more rides on the Russian Soyuz through 2020. The agency is adhering to a recommendation from its Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) after concerns were raised about the lack of a back-up option covering the potential delays that…
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First flights for SpaceX and Boeing space taxis face further delays, NASA says
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s Starliner capsule and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft. (NASA Graphic) NASA says the flight test schedule for space taxis designed by SpaceX and Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station has been stretched out further, as expected. And it wouldn’t be surprising if additional postponements occur in…
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NASA announces test flight crew change for Boeing’s Starliner
Just five months after revealing the NASA astronauts who will fly the crewed test flights for both SpaceX’s Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner missions, NASA announced today that a medical issue will prevent one of those astronauts from flying the Starliner crewed test flight. The announcement came via the agency’s website, noting that Eric Boe, a…
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NASA shuffles crew for Boeing Starliner space taxi’s test flight due to medical issue
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke tests the Orion spaceship exit procedure at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. (NASA via YouTube) NASA says a medical issue is forcing a switch in the crew for the Boeing Starliner space taxi’s first crewed test flight to the International Space Station, currently scheduled for…
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NASA reviews safety at SpaceX and Boeing after Elon Musk smokes pot on video
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner are being developed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station for NASA. (SpaceX / Boeing Illustrations) NASA has ordered a review of workplace safety at SpaceX and Boeing, the two companies developing spaceships to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station, in…
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Commercial Crew completes training and prepares flight hardware
Teams from NASA, SpaceX, and the Department of Defense recently completed medical emergency training at Cape Canaveral. Launch pads are receiving final upgrades, and flight hardware is beginning to arrive, as both Commercial Crew providers progress towards returning crew launch capability to American soil. On October 25, an emergency simulation was conducted at the Kennedy…
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Thirty years after Return To Flight from Challenger, Commercial Crew strives for culture of safety
Thirty years ago this weekend, after a two and a half year stand down and an extremely difficult external- and self-examination of a lack of safety within the program, NASA succeeded in returning the Space Shuttle fleet to flight following the devastating loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew on the STS-51L…
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NAC provides Starliner, Dragon 2 update – Commercial Crew preps entering final leg to launch
SpaceX and Boeing continue to make steady progress towards the major flight tests under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. At a NASA Advisory Council (NAC) meeting on Monday, the members were updated on the progress of each of the two providers. Overall, the updates were quite positive with most of the flight hardware nearing completion. The…
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Boeing’s Ferguson on Starliner – no touch screens, but far simpler than Shuttle
Chris Ferguson, Director of Crew and Mission Operations for Boeing and a former NASA astronaut, has outlined Starliner’s design and what Boeing and NASA have planned for the uncrewed and crewed test flights. The former Shuttle commander also spoke about how much simpler Starliner’s displays will be in comparison to the orbiters. Working on a…
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Commercial Crew assignments; NASA nears goal of human space transport innovation
An announcement most have waited years for. NASA has officially announced the flight assignments for the first crewed test and operational flights of SpaceX’s Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner crew transportation vehicles. The announcements come as the Commercial Crew Program gears up for the uncrewed and crewed test flights of the first commercially developed vehicles that…