{"id":19137,"date":"2016-12-12T17:49:58","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T09:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-confirms-delay-in-commercial-crew-flights-to-2018-pushing-the-envelope\/"},"modified":"2016-12-12T17:49:58","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T09:49:58","slug":"nasa-confirms-delay-in-commercial-crew-flights-to-2018-pushing-the-envelope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-confirms-delay-in-commercial-crew-flights-to-2018-pushing-the-envelope\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA confirms delay in commercial crew flights to 2018, pushing the envelope"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_296148\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-296148\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-296148\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161212-crew-dragon-spacex-630x468.jpg\" alt=\"Dragon arrival\" width=\"630\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161212-crew-dragon-spacex-630x468.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161212-crew-dragon-spacex-768x570.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161212-crew-dragon-spacex-1240x921.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161212-crew-dragon-spacex.jpg 1347w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-296148\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows SpaceX\u2019s crew-capable Dragon approaching a port on the International Space Station with a cargo Dragon in the foreground. (NASA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NASA has confirmed that the commercial space taxis being developed by SpaceX and the Boeing Co. will start carrying astronauts to the International Space Station no earlier than 2018, and there\u2019s a chance the schedule could slip even further.<\/p>\n<p>Any further schedule delays could create&nbsp;further complications, considering that NASA hasn\u2019t purchased seats aboard Russia\u2019s Soyuz spacecraft for flights past 2018. In September, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said NASA wasn\u2019t \u201cpresently looking at any additional seats beyond those that we have already purchased.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Until SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon and Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner enter service, the Soyuz vehicles provide the only approved way to get astronauts to and from the space station. NASA\u2019s most recent reservation with the Russians sets aside seats through the end of 2018, at a cost of $81.7 million per round trip.<\/p>\n<p>In a blog posting, NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Martin said the current schedule calls for&nbsp;uncrewed test flights to the space station in November 2017 for SpaceX and June 2018 for Boeing.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Boeing Starliner - Crew Space Transportation CST-100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qs_a_cd61-8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter the uncrewed flight tests, both companies will execute a flight test with crew prior to being certified by NASA for crew rotation mission,\u201d Martin wrote.<\/p>\n<p>She said SpaceX has targeted May 2018 for its crewed flight test, while Boeing is aiming to launch the first crew in August of that year.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, SpaceX said it was planning to fly the crewed demonstration flight in the second quarter of 2018 with two crew members.<\/p>\n<p>NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing as commercial crew carriers in 2014 under the terms of $6.8 billion in contracts. Previously, SpaceX had held out hope that its first crewed flight might take place in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Boeing announced its revised development schedule in October.<\/p>\n<p>In a Sept. 1 report, NASA\u2019s inspector general said \u201cmultiple challenges \u2026 will likely delay the first routine flight carrying NASA astronauts to the ISS until late 2018.\u201d That report blamed the delays on issues relating to vehicle mass and vibrations during launch in Boeing\u2019s case, and on the design changes required to enable a splashdown at sea in SpaceX\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"SpaceX Dragon V2 | Flight Animation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Cf_-g3UWQ04?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On the same day that report was issued, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and its payload were destroyed in a launch-pad explosion, forcing a months-long suspension of SpaceX launches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are carefully assessing our designs, systems and processes, taking into account the lessons learned and corrective actions identified,\u201d SpaceX said in today\u2019s statement. \u201cOur schedule reflects the additional time needed for this assessment and implementation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon 9 is expected to return to service next month, but there are lingering questions about the planned fueling procedure&nbsp;for crewed Dragon flights.<\/p>\n<p>Today SpaceX said that it has designed \u201ca reliable fueling and launch process that minimizes the duration and number of personnel exposed to the hazards of launch a rocket.\u201d The process calls for the crew to board the Dragon, followed by the departure of ground personnel and propellant loading. Throughout the process leading up to liftoff, the Dragon\u2019s launch abort system would be enabled.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, advisers to NASA said that putting the crew on board before loading the rocket\u2019s oxidizer was \u201ccontrary to booster safety criteria that has been in place for over 50 years.\u201d In today\u2019s statement, SpaceX said that the procedure had been worked out with NASA\u2019s safety review board, but would be \u201ccarefully evaluated\u201d and revised as needed in light of the investigation into the Sept. 1 explosion.<\/p>\n<p>Some observers have said privately that even the updated schedule is optimistic \u2013 which is almost always the case for spaceship development. The bigger issue has to do with&nbsp;keeping NASA\u2019s options open with the Russians if the delays mount and additional Soyuz seats are needed.<\/p>\n<p>Boeing and SpaceX both say they can send astronauts into orbit at a lower per-seat cost than the Russians, but there\u2019s more than money at stake: Policymakers say flights of the Dragon and the Starliner are essential to making American spaceflight great again.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s even a prize waiting for the winner: During the final space shuttle flight in 2011, astronauts left a small U.S. flag on the space station, to be claimed by the first team to return on a U.S.-made spaceship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows SpaceX\u2019s crew-capable Dragon approaching a port on the International Space Station with a cargo Dragon in the foreground. (NASA Photo) NASA has confirmed that the commercial space taxis being developed by SpaceX and the Boeing Co. will start carrying astronauts to the International Space Station no earlier than 2018, and there\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/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":[670,291,717,190,316],"class_list":["post-19137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-boeing","tag-commercial-space","tag-international-space-station","tag-nasa","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19137"}],"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=19137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}