{"id":15913,"date":"2015-11-23T18:56:49","date_gmt":"2015-11-23T10:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-receives-firm-order-for-its-first-crew-flight\/"},"modified":"2015-11-23T18:56:49","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T10:56:49","slug":"spacex-receives-firm-order-for-its-first-crew-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-receives-firm-order-for-its-first-crew-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX receives firm order for its first crew flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"16787988882_0b9896dc9f_z-2\"
Artist\u2019s concept of SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fresh off a major design review, SpaceX\u2019s human-rated Dragon spaceship has received the first of up to six firm mission orders from NASA under the company\u2019s $2.6 billion commercial crew contract.<\/p>\n

The structure of the commercial crew deals with SpaceX and Boeing give each company at least two \u2014 and up to six \u2014 operational crew rotation missions to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

Those flights are in addition to unpiloted and crewed demonstration missions by SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon and Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner capsules in 2017.<\/p>\n

Boeing received the first mission order in May, soon after the CST-100 spacecraft\u2019s critical design review, a milestone NASA officials have said would trigger firm commitments for revenue-earning crew rotation flights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting to see SpaceX and Boeing with hardware in flow for their first crew rotation missions,\u201d said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA\u2019s commercial crew program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. \u201cIt is important to have at least two healthy and robust capabilities from U.S. companies to deliver crew and critical scientific experiments from American soil to the space station throughout its lifespan.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA has not decided which contractor will fly the first operational flight to the space station with a crew, and officials caution the timing of the orders does not necessarily indicate whether Boeing or SpaceX will get the nod first.<\/p>\n

Once the companies finish their flight tests, each commercial crew mission will carry four astronauts and up to 220 pounds of cargo. The capsules will remain docked to the space station for up to 210 days, serving as an escape pod for the crew in case of emergency.<\/p>\n

Seven astronauts will be able to live long-term on the space station \u2014 up from the current six-member crews \u2014 once the U.S. spaceships are routinely flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe authority to proceed with Dragon\u2019s first operational crew mission is a significant milestone in the commercial crew program and a great source of pride for the entire SpaceX team,\u201d said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating office of SpaceX. \u201cWhen Crew Dragon takes NASA astronauts to the space station in 2017, they will be riding in one of the safest, most reliable spacecraft ever flown. We\u2019re honored to be developing this capability for NASA and our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s crewed missions will lift off on Falcon 9 rockets from launch pad 39A, the former space shuttle complex, at Kennedy Space Center. Boeing plans to use United Launch Alliance\u2019s Atlas 5 rocket, which departs from the nearby pad 41.<\/p>\n

\"Astronauts
Astronauts Doug Hurley and Suni Williams sit inside a Crew Dragon mockup at SpaceX\u2019s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. NASA has named Hurley, Williams and veteran astronauts Eric Boe and Bob Behnken as the first four astronauts to train and fly on SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew vehicles. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX says it is on schedule an automated test flight of the Crew Dragon spaceship to the International Space Station by the end of 2016, followed by a crewed demo mission to the station in March 2017 with two NASA astronauts at the controls, according to Benjamin Reed, SpaceX\u2019s commercial crew program director.<\/p>\n

In between those orbital test flights, SpaceX engineers will refurbish the capsule flown on the uncrewed mission \u2014 called Demo 1 \u2014 for a high-altitude test of the ship\u2019s abort system. SpaceX completed a demonstration of the abort thrusters at ground level during a pad abort test at Cape Canaveral in May.<\/p>\n

Reed said the Crew Dragon schedule is \u201con a good path\u201d in a Nov. 5 presentation to the NASA Advisory Council\u2019s human exploration and operations subcommittee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you think about the end of 2016, we\u2019re here almost at the end of 2015,\u201d Reed said. \u201cWe are all on a flight timeline. We\u2019re on a mission timeline now as we wrap up design \u2026 We expect to get into verifications of requirements immediately in the new year, and we\u2019re already working on initial hardware builds.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Reed, SpaceX completed the Crew Dragon\u2019s critical design review a few weeks ago, a key step when a spacecraft\u2019s design is finalized and hardware production is cleared to proceed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent many hours throughout the year reviewing and assessing with NASA, getting their comments on feedback,\u201d Reed said. \u201cWe then did dump a full set of documents and material \u2014 I think it was about 1,800 files we delivered \u2014 that becomes our baseline set of material \u2026 But the close of the review went very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

A \u201cdelta\u201d critical design review in December will close out a few open items left over from the first review, Reed said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A recent aerial view of SpaceX\u2019s launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX is preparing a prototype Crew Dragon spaceship \u2014 the same capsule used on a pad abort test in May \u2014 for propulsive landing tests at the company\u2019s development facility in Central Texas, Reed said.<\/p>\n

The craft will initially fly on short, low-altitude tests to prove out the capsule\u2019s rocket-powered descent system using SuperDraco jetpacks, the same thrusters that would whisk the ship away from a failing launch vehicle.<\/p>\n

SpaceX says the first Crew Dragon flights with astronauts will land under parachutes in the ocean, much like the company\u2019s cargo vehicles return to Earth today.<\/p>\n

But the Crew Dragon spaceship is heavier than the cargo version, Reed said, and that required engineers to add a fourth main parachute to the capsule.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt actually allows us to use the same chutes that we\u2019ve been using that are tried and true on the cargo vehicle,\u201d Reed said. \u201cIt gives us the lift that we need using four.\u201d<\/p>\n

The abort test at Cape Canaveral in May employed three main parachutes, and Reed\u2019s update to the NASA Advisory Council was the first time the company publicly acknowledged the change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt lets us work with that (parachute) vendor and lets us work with that design,\u201d Reed said. \u201cThe configuration of the chute is very good. Think of it as a safety and reliability enhancement.\u201d<\/p>\n

SpaceX and Boeing officials acknowledge the schedule is tight to begin launching crews by the end of 2017, and managers are keeping an eye on how the commercial and government teams \u2014 sometimes with vastly different cultures \u2014 mesh as the crew program heads toward flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been involved in every NASA human spaceflight program that they\u2019ve had, so our culture has grown up together,\u201d said John Mulholland, Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner program manager. \u201cThat\u2019s good and bad because with a fixed-price development program, you\u2019ve got to make sure you operate at pace. You\u2019ve got to do all the right things, but you\u2019ve got to operate at pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

While SpaceX targets March 2017 for the first flight of astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon, Boeing managers say their schedule calls for the first crewed test mission in September 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have much schedule flexibility,\u201d Mulholland said Nov. 5. \u201cTo be quite frank, for the schedule to work, there has to be a limited amount of discovery in the integrated (test) campaign. We know there\u2019s going to be some.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, if you end up with a significant issue in that campaign, then you\u2019re going to stand down and you\u2019re going to go take care of it, and the schedule is going to be what the schedule needs to be,\u201d Mulholland told the NASA advisory committee.<\/p>\n

Besides the technical hurdles, Reed and Mulholland agreed a major threat to the commercial crew program\u2019s 2017 schedule goal is pleasing NASA, which sets the program\u2019s requirements and manages certification of each spacecraft for human passengers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the sheer volume (of work),\u201d Reed said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot going on, and there are a lot of people. The NASA-to-SpaceX ratio of folks is probably fairly high. I think the real challenge is making sure all those relationships keep moving, whether it\u2019s in ECLSS (environmental control and life support systems), or structures, or something on Falcon, or something in operations, all of these groups have critical roles.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA officials have said they will not compromise crew safety in their analyses.<\/p>\n

Boeing and SpaceX engineers will deliver the results of their tests to NASA in the run-up to the first orbital test flights, and the space agency\u2019s safety reviewers and engineers will pore over the data before allowing NASA astronauts to fly on the commercial spaceships, and before permitting the capsules to approach the space station.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real challenge is going to be when we start rolling out of these tests, and we have the documentation that we feel is adequate \u2014 what we said we would provide \u2014 and then it gets delivered to NASA,\u201d Mulholland said. \u201cA: The timeframe for the turnaround is going to be incredibly challenging, and B: That\u2019s when you start having some of the hard discussions of, \u2018I\u2019d like some more analysis, or have you looked at this and that.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat could consume you if it\u2019s not managed well,\u201d Mulholland said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the risks. When it\u2019s time for someone to sign their name, it gets more challenging.\u201d<\/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 SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX Fresh off a major design review, SpaceX\u2019s human-rated Dragon spaceship has received the first of up to six firm mission orders from NASA under the company\u2019s $2.6 billion commercial crew contract. The structure of the commercial crew deals with SpaceX and Boeing give each company at […]<\/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":[524,235,1545,717,316],"class_list":["post-15913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-crew","tag-crew-dragon","tag-human-spaceflight","tag-international-space-station","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15913"}],"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=15913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}