{"id":12873,"date":"2019-10-25T22:03:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T14:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/bridenstine-says-nasa-not-holding-up-commercial-crew-schedule\/"},"modified":"2019-10-25T22:03:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T14:03:00","slug":"bridenstine-says-nasa-not-holding-up-commercial-crew-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/bridenstine-says-nasa-not-holding-up-commercial-crew-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridenstine says NASA not holding up commercial crew schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (left) visited SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on Oct. 10. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk and NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken (left to right) joined Bridenstine for a media availability in Hawthorne. Credit: NASA\/Aubrey Gemignani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said this week the space agency is not unduly delaying the debut of new SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew capsules as engineers gear up for a challenging rapid-fire sequence of test flights in the next few months, all against the backdrop of in-depth safety reviews before clearing the privately-owned ships to carry astronauts.<\/p>\n

In an interview Thursday with Spaceflight Now, Bridenstine said SpaceX and Boeing are \u201cdecently set up for success\u201d as the companies head into the high-profile test campaign. He said he expects at least one of the companies to launch astronauts \u201cin the first quarter, (or) maybe the first half of next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both contractors are delivering detailed data books to NASA for review, part of the process to ensure the capsules meet the space agency\u2019s performance and safety requirements. Bridenstine called the schedule \u201caggressive\u201d and said it would be \u201cincorrect\u201d for anyone to conclude NASA\u2019s reviews are responsible for delays in the commercial crew program.<\/p>\n

\u201cContractor performance is important, and NASA is important as well,\u201d Bridenstine told Spaceflight Now in an interview Thursday. \u201cWithout NASA, none of these contractors would be where they are now. None of them. Our NASA engineers, our NASA technologists, are embedded working side-by-side with them, taking decades of history and applying our knowledge to their commercial capabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it is absolutely untrue that NASA is slowing it down,\u201d Bridenstine said. \u201cNASA is making sure that it gets done right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials from NASA, industry and advisory boards have previously identified the importance of setting clear NASA requirements, coupled with smoother communication between NASA and contractors, as a key learning lesson from the commercial crew program as the space agency sets its sights on an accelerated program to return astronauts to the moon by 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an aggressive schedule,\u201d Bridenstine said, referring to the commercial crew program. \u201cIt is in the realm of what is possible, but we\u2019re not going to take any risk on our astronauts that we don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Spaceflight Now members can read a transcript of our full interview with Jim Bridenstine. Become a member today and support our coverage.<\/h6>\n
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The first major test in the lead-up to a crew flight by SpaceX is a hotfire test of the Crew Dragon\u2019s SuperDraco abort engines at Cape Canaveral. CNBC reported Thursday that the test is scheduled for Nov. 2.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a redo of an attempted SuperDraco static fire test in April, which ended in an explosion that destroyed the Crew Dragon test vehicle, the same craft that completed a successful unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station in March.<\/p>\n

After finding the likely cause of the explosion and implementing corrective actions \u2014 SpaceX found fault in a propulsion system valve \u2014 engineers are gearing up to repeat the ground abort engine test.<\/p>\n

SpaceX tweeted a video Thursday of a modified SuperDraco abort engine performing a test-firing.<\/p>\n