{"id":15496,"date":"2016-05-26T00:42:03","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T16:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-on-track-to-launch-astronauts-in-late-2017\/"},"modified":"2016-05-26T00:42:03","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T16:42:03","slug":"spacex-on-track-to-launch-astronauts-in-late-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-on-track-to-launch-astronauts-in-late-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX \u2018on track\u2019 to launch astronauts in late 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Artist's
Artist\u2019s concept of the Crew Dragon spacecraft in orbit. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX is on schedule to fly two NASA astronauts on a test flight to the International Space Station by the end of 2017, but there is a lot of work to do to ensure the company\u2019s new Crew Dragon spaceship is up to the task and ready in time, a SpaceX manager said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Reed, director of SpaceX\u2019s commercial crew program, said Tuesday that construction workers will install a crew access arm and other infrastructure for human spaceflights at Kennedy Space Center\u2019s launch pad 39A this summer.<\/p>\n

The seaside launch facility \u2014 last used for the final space shuttle launch in 2011 \u2014 is being leased by SpaceX to support flights by the company\u2019s future Falcon Heavy rocket, commercial satellite launches and piloted space sorties, which will blast off on the smaller Falcon 9.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, SpaceX has finished qualification of the company\u2019s own docking system to connect the Crew Dragon to Boeing-made docking adapters on the space station, and began testing of the capsule\u2019s propulsion system, according to a presentation by Reed at the Space Congress 2016 industry conference in Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

Still to come: Full-up integrated tests of the Crew Dragon\u2019s environmental control and life support system, qualification of the capsule\u2019s four-parachute recovery system, and qualification of the spacesuits to be worn by astronauts flying on the SpaceX craft.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot to do by next year, but we\u2019re looking good,\u201d Reed told reporters Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019re on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SpaceX
SpaceX dropped a mass simulator from a C-130 cargo plane earlier this year to test the Crew Dragon\u2019s four main parachutes. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX contracts in 2014 to complete development of the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the space station, eyeing a start of operational flights by the end of 2017.<\/p>\n

Boeing won up to $4.2 billion for the effort, which will send astronauts to space on CST-100 capsules from Florida atop United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets and return them to landings in the Western United States, likely in New Mexico or Utah, with the aid of parachutes and airbags.<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s contract has a maximum value of $2.6 billion.<\/p>\n

Each contractor is guaranteed at least two \u201cpost-certification\u201d missions after they complete two orbital test flights to the space station, one without astronauts and one with two crew members. Boeing and SpaceX could each receive firm orders for up to six missions under the guidelines of the contracts.<\/p>\n

So far, NASA has ordered the first two operational crew rotation missions from Boeing, and one from SpaceX. The CST-100 and Crew Dragon capsules will carry at least four astronauts on normal revenue-earning crew rotation flights, and they will stay docked with the complex for up to 210 days.<\/p>\n

\"Astronauts
Astronauts Doug Hurley, center, and Sunita Williams participate in a ground test last year at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boeing announced earlier this month that its first piloted CST-100 Starliner flight with two test astronauts on-board has slipped from October 2017 to February 2018. That will be preceded by an abort test using the capsule\u2019s pusher escape engines at White Sands, New Mexico, in October 2017 and a trip to the space station by an unoccupied CST-100 in December 2017, Boeing officials said.<\/p>\n

Reed was less specific Tuesday on a timetable for Crew Dragon test flights.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, SpaceX quietly delayed its initial Crew Dragon mission without astronauts from late 2016 to May 2017. A NASA official confirmed the updated schedule in a March presentation to the agency\u2019s advisory council.<\/p>\n

SpaceX demonstrated the Crew Dragon\u2019s ability to rapidly dispatch astronauts away from a catastrophic mishap on the launch pad in May 2015. The company plans an in-flight abort demo next year some time after the uncrewed orbital test flight, using the same vehicle after it returns from space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time, we\u2019ll put the Dragon test vehicle on top of a Falcon 9, launch it and then do an abort mid-ascent,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen of course, the biggie, Demonstration No. 2 to ISS with crew,\u201d Reed said. \u201cTwo of the members of the NASA cadre will be on-board, and we\u2019re looking forward to bringing them up and bringing them home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA has named astronauts Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita Williams as the first four crew members to train for CST-100 and Crew Dragon missions. The agency has not announced the astronauts who will fly on each spacecraft.<\/p>\n

\"A
A prototype Crew Dragon spacecraft undergoes a hover test at SpaceX\u2019s test facility in McGregor, Texas. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reed said SpaceX hopes to certify the Crew Dragon\u2019s propulsive landing capability, which will allow for helicopter-like touchdowns on a landing pad, some time after spacecraft begins flying astronauts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s certainly the plan, and we\u2019ll work closely with NASA to decide the right time to introduce propulsive landing,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n

The initial missions in 2017 will return to Earth to an ocean splashdown like the cargo version of Dragon, but with an extra fourth parachute to carry the added weight of the human-rated capsule.<\/p>\n

SpaceX released a video in January of a five-second hover test using the Crew Dragon\u2019s powerful hydrazine-fueled SuperDraco jetpack at a development facility in Central Texas.<\/p>\n

The propulsive landing technique is a key enabler for a commercial robotic \u201cRed Dragon\u201d mission SpaceX intends to launch to Mars in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still working (on propulsive landing) right now, but the first thing is to make sure were certified to get the crew up and bring them back safely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artist\u2019s concept of the Crew Dragon spacecraft in orbit. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is on schedule to fly two NASA astronauts on a test flight to the International Space Station by the end of 2017, but there is a lot of work to do to ensure the company\u2019s new Crew Dragon spaceship is up to 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":[3703,524,235,3704,1545,717,1702,316],"class_list":["post-15496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-benjamin-reed","tag-commercial-crew","tag-crew-dragon","tag-dragon-in-flight-abort","tag-human-spaceflight","tag-international-space-station","tag-launch-pad-39a","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15496"}],"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=15496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}