Tag: Starliner
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NASA names nine astronauts for SpaceX and Boeing flights to space station
The crews for the first four flights on SpaceX and Boeing space taxis wave to the cameras after their introduction at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. (NASA via YouTube) NASA unveiled the first nine astronauts for its commercial crew missions to the International Space Station today, including rookies as well as seasoned veterans. The…
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NASA confirms new timetable for space taxi flights; SpaceX to fly crew next April
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship docking with the International Space Station, plus a cargo-carrying version of the Dragon in the foreground. (SpaceX Illustration via NASA) NASA today laid out a newly stretched-out schedule for flying astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil, with SpaceX’s first such flight set for no earlier…
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Boeing resets test schedule for Starliner space taxi; first crewed flight in mid-2019
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which is designed to carry astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station. (Boeing Illustration) Last month’s problem with leaky rocket engine valves has forced Boeing to rearrange the sequence of tests for its Starliner space taxi, with the first crewed flight to the International…
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ASAP reviews Boeing failure, positive SpaceX success ahead of Commercial Crew announcement
As NASA prepares to provide updated launch date targets for the uncrewed and crewed Commercial Crew demonstration missions from both SpaceX and Boeing – as well as flight crew assignments for each provider – the agency’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) held its quarterly meeting last Thursday, during which they outlined a failure on Boeing’s…
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Engine test anomaly deals setback to Boeing’s plans for Starliner space taxi
Aerojet Rocketdyne conducts a 2016 test firing of the launch abort engines designed for use on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi. The engines feature a new type of propellant valves. (Aerojet Rocketdyne Photo) Boeing confirms that it experienced an anomaly last month during tests of the engines that would be used on its CST-100 Starliner…
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SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule arrives in Florida to get set for uncrewed test flight
Technicians check out the Crew Dragon capsule in Florida after the completion of thermal vacuum and acoustic testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio. (SpaceX via Instagram) After months of testing, a SpaceX Dragon capsule that’s designed to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station has arrived in Florida, marking a significant…
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Spacewalkers install HD video cameras to monitor future SpaceX and Boeing trips
NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold looks out from the International Space Station’s Quest airlock at the beginning of a spacewalk. (Oleg Artemyev / Roscosmos via Twitter) News Brief: NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold installed new high-definition video cameras on the exterior of the International Space Station today during a spacewalk that lasted nearly seven…
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Atlas V flies through DCR ahead of Starliner debut
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has completed the Design Certification Review (DCR) for the Atlas V upcoming role in launching Starliner spacecraft later this year. Starliner is set to conduct a maiden flight into space during an uncrewed test flight (Orbital Flight Test – OFT-1) as early as August. Part of the tag team effort with SpaceX’s…
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Boeing’s Dennis Muilenburg says he’ll beat SpaceX to Mars; Elon Musk says ‘Do it’
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Space Launch System in flight. (NASA Illustration) So what does SpaceX CEO Elon Musk think of Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg’s claim that the first people to set foot on Mars will arrive on a Boeing rocket? “Do it,” Musk tweeted, in one of many two-word comebacks that might have come…
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Boeing Starliner trio preparing for test flights
Boeing is progressing through various stages of assembling the first three CST-100 Starliner spacecraft – the latter of which will launch a NASA crew on a test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). A number of major milestones are upcoming, including a Design Certification Review (DCR) for trips to the orbital outpost. Starliner: Part…