{"id":13493,"date":"2018-11-21T20:08:50","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T12:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-announces-target-date-for-first-spacex-crew-dragon-flight\/"},"modified":"2018-11-21T20:08:50","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T12:08:50","slug":"nasa-announces-target-date-for-first-spacex-crew-dragon-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-announces-target-date-for-first-spacex-crew-dragon-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA announces target date for first SpaceX Crew Dragon flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION<\/p>\n

\"\"
Artist\u2019s concept of SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 agency\u2019s drive to end its sole reliance on Russian Soyuz crew ships for carrying astronauts to orbit.<\/p>\n

If the shakedown flight goes smoothly \u2014 and if a NASA safety probe unveiled Tuesday doesn\u2019t turn up any show stoppers \u2014 SpaceX could be ready to launch the first piloted Crew Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket in the June timeframe, carrying veteran NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the space station.<\/p>\n

Boeing also is building a commercial crew spacecraft called the CST-100 Starliner. An unpiloted test flight currently is planned for March \u2014 a specific date has not been announced \u2014 followed by a piloted flight to the station in August. Boeing will use United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets to boost Starliner spacecraft into orbit.<\/p>\n

Both companies still face a variety of technical hurdles, and the dates are tentative at best.<\/p>\n

Boeing has encountered propulsion problems in the Starliner\u2019s abort system and is behind schedule on key tests while SpaceX faces \u201cserious difficulties,\u201d according to the NASA Aerospace Advisory Panel, including concerns about high-pressure helium tanks used in the Falcon 9 booster and parachute issues with the Crew Dragon.<\/p>\n

But SpaceX officials say the company is on track for launch in January and that hardware processing, crew training and ground support preparations are proceeding as planned.<\/p>\n

However it plays out, NASA managers are hopeful one or both companies will be certified to begin operational crew rotation flights sometime next year, ending the agency\u2019s reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, the only available transportation for U.S., European, Canadian and Japanese astronauts since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.<\/p>\n

The unpiloted Crew Dragon flight coming up in January, known as Demo-1 on the SpaceX manifest, will launch from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff is expected around 11:57 p.m. EST (GMT-5) when Earth\u2019s rotation carries the pad into the plane of the station\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n

Once released from the Falcon 9, the spacecraft is expected to carry out an autonomous rendezvous with the International Space Station, gliding in to a docking at the lab\u2019s recently modified forward port where shuttles once berthed. After a short stay, the capsule will undock and return to Earth with an ocean splashdown.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Crew Dragon spacecraft pictured at NASA\u2019s Plum Brook Station test facility. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that NASA is launching a major review of the safety \u201ccultures\u201d at both Boeing and SpaceX. In a statement, NASA said the review is intended \u201cto ensure the companies are meeting NASA\u2019s requirements for workplace safety, including the adherence to a drug-free environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fully expect our commercial partners to meet all workplace safety requirements in the execution of our missions and the services they provide the American people,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cAs always, NASA will ensure they do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Post, citing sources, reported the review was triggered in part by the recent behavior of SpaceX founder Elon Musk \u201cafter he took a hit of marijuana and sipped whisky on a podcast streamed on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

A SpaceX spokesman told CBS News that human spaceflight \u201cis the core mission of our company\u201d and \u201cthere is nothing more important to SpaceX than this endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take seriously the responsibility that NASA has entrusted in us to safely and reliably carry American astronauts to and from the International Space Station,\u201d he said. \u201cFor years, our engineers have worked side-by-side with NASA, creating a strong partnership and guiding the development of Crew Dragon, one of the safest, most-advanced human spaceflight systems ever built.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the company actively promotes workplace safety and managers are confident \u201cthat our comprehensive drug-free workforce and workplace programs exceed all applicable contractual requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

For its part, a Boeing spokesman said the company\u2019s culture \u201censures the integrity, safety and quality of our products, our people and their work environment. As NASA\u2019s trusted partner since the beginning of human spaceflight, we share the same values and are committed to continuing our legacy of trust, openness and mission success.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commercial crew program grew out of a NASA-sponsored competition that began in 2011 and ended in September 2014 when the agency announced that Boeing and SpaceX would share $6.8 billion to develop independent space taxis, the first new U.S. crewed spacecraft since the shuttle.<\/p>\n

SpaceX is building the Crew Dragon under a $2.6 billion contract. SpaceX also holds NASA contracts valued at more than $2 billion for 20 space station cargo missions using unpiloted Dragon capsules. A subsequent contract for an unspecified amount covers another six cargo flights.<\/p>\n

Boeing was awarded a $4.2 billion contract for CST-100 Starliner development. Unlike the Crew Dragon, the Starliner will use parachutes and airbags for ground landings in the western United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Artist\u2019s concept of SpaceX\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[524,235,2657,479,1428,1545,428,25],"class_list":["post-13493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-crew","tag-crew-dragon","tag-crew-dragon-demo-1","tag-falcon-9","tag-falcon-9-block-5","tag-human-spaceflight","tag-kennedy-space-center","tag-launch"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13493\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}