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Per the milestone schedule, testing is being conducted on both the capsule and the integrated stack, made up of the CST-100 and United Launch Alliance\u2019s Atlas V \u2013 the launch vehicle of choice \u2013 to complete the data gathering process for the Preliminary Design Review (PDR).<\/p>\n
A total of 25 milestones are listed in Boeing\u2019s overview for CCDev-2, although it was heavily censored, listing only 11 of the milestones. By the conclusion of the CCDev-2 funding period, Boeing claim they will be 80 percent complete on their Critical Design Review (CDR) phase.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Z33.jpg\" "\\"Z3\\"")
For the test, a helicopter lifted the CST-100 crew capsule to about 14,000 feet above the Delmar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nevada. A drogue parachute deployment sequence was initiated, followed by deployment of the main parachute. The capsule descended to a smooth ground landing, cushioned by six inflated air bags.<\/p>\nHDT Airborne Systems of Solon, Ohio, designed, fabricated and integrated the parachute system, including the two drogue parachutes. ILC Dover of Frederica, Delaware, designed and fabricated the landing air bag system.<\/p>\n
This second test comes just a month after the initial test on April 3, validating the architecture and deployment of the parachute system, characterized pyrotechnic shock loads, confirmed parachute size and design, and identified potential forward compartment packaging and deployment issues. The company inspected and re-packed the full parachute system for this second test.<\/p>\n
Space Shuttle
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/C10.jpg\" "\\"C10\\"")
Notably, Boeing\u2019s own schedule from last summer showed the Parachute Drop Test demo was the books for April, 2012, meaning Boeing have not suffered from slips in their major milestone manifest. So while CST-100 may not have the media attention of SpaceX\u2019s Dragon capsule, or the \u201cwow factor\u201d of SNC\u2019s Dream Chaser, it is clearly making steady \u2013 and on schedule \u2013 progress.<\/p>\n\u201cThis second parachute drop test validates Boeing\u2019s innovative system architecture and deployment plan,\u201d said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Boeing Commercial Programs. \u201cBoeing\u2019s completion of this milestone reaffirms our commitment to provide safe, reliable and affordable crewed access to space.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Z42.jpg\" "\\"Z4\\"")
The company has scheduled additional tests to be performed in 2012 that will provide more data on elements of the spacecraft\u2019s design.<\/p>\n\u201cBoeing\u2019s parachute demonstrations are a clear sign NASA is moving in the right direction of enabling the American aerospace transportation industry to flourish under this partnership,\u201d NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program Manager Ed Mango said. \u201cThe investments we\u2019re making now are enabling this new path forward of getting our crews to LEO and potentially the space station as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boeing performed this test with the support of its Commercial Crew team, including Bigelow Aerospace, which played a key role by providing the capsule test article and associated electronics as well as supporting the test itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to see the robust progress that is being made via the Commercial Crew program,\u201d said Robert T. Bigelow, company founder and president. \u201cThis successful test provides further proof that the commercial crew initiative represents the most expeditious, safe and affordable means of getting America flying in space again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boeing have said on record they could be ready to fly a crewed mission in 2015. However, NASA\u2019s leadership insist that 2017 is a more realistic date, due to lower-than-expected funding within the NASA budget cycles.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/D62.jpg\" "\\"D62\\"")
Regardless, at this current juncture, Boeing remain on schedule with their test objectives and are already in the early stages of setting up CST-100\u2019s new home, inside the former Shuttle Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-3), following a NASA agreement with Space Florida \u2013 the State\u2019s aerospace economic development agency \u2013 last October.<\/p>\nA second OPF is understood to be close to becoming the home for another spacecraft, after it was revealed that Atlantis \u2013 the current occupier of OPF-1 \u2013 may have to vacate the facility and head to the VAB \u2013 in order to make way for CST-100\u2019s new \u2013 but as yet unnamed \u2013 neighbor.<\/p>\n
(Images via Boeing)<\/p>\n
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The CST-100 crew transport vehicle successfully conducted its second parachute test this week, safely demonstrating its entire landing system via a 14,000 feet descent on to a dry lake bed in Nevada. CST-100 is one of the spacecraft fighting for the right to be the commercial crew carrier for NASA astronauts heading to the International […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30328,"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":[8996,1565],"class_list":["post-40135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ccdev","tag-cst-100"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40135"}],"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=40135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}