Celebrate Fourth of July with Commercial Crew by coloring our newest coloring sheet. You can download the sheet, at http://go.nasa.gov/1Hy6H2U.
Also, don’t forget to check out the NASA exhibits at Essence Fest and the Audubon Institute’s Aquarium if you are in New Orleans this weekend.
Are you in New Orleans for the Fourth of July Weekend? Be sure to check out the NASA exhibits at Essence Fest at the Audubon Institute’s Aquarium July 1-5! 
The cargo Dragon spacecraft set to launch this morning is carrying a 1,000-pound International Docking Adapter that will make it easier for Commercial Crew spacecraft to connect to the station. IDA-1, as the component is called, will be connected to the port on the end of the Harmony module on the space station. Equipped with modernized docking targets and sensors, the IDA, made by Boeing, will give the Boeing CST-100 and SpaceX Crew Dragon a place to dock. Many of the sensors and targets are set up so the spacecraft can steer safely to the station and dock automatically to the IDA. A second IDA will be sent into space later will be connected to another port on the station to provide a backup parking place for spacecraft. There’s a lot more to the IDA’s story, including the cooperation it has taken to make, test and launch. For those details, go to http://go.nasa.gov/1Ik5HjQ. 
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A new crew access tower is taking shape one segment at a time at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where metalworkers are assembling steel beams into tiers which will be stacked atop each other to form a 200-foot-tall structure fit to host astronauts as they embark on a mission to the International Space Station. The structure is being tailored by United Launch Alliance to the specifications of Boeing’s CST-100 spacecraft which is to lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket to take astronauts to the orbiting laboratory for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Read more, at http://go.nasa.gov/1NkRbYY.
“Sometimes when you are an engineer, you have to get it wrong, before you can get it right,” said Rebecca Regan, an employee at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Yesterday, Regan taught 17 elementary school students at Kennedy’s Child Development Center about the Commercial Crew Program and the need to have American-made spacecraft and rocket systems to carry people to and from space. After the lesson, each student built their own spacecraft out of cardboard boxes and art supplies.
Take a look at the designs these budding engineers created.
Want to build your own spacecraft this summer? We used the following supplies:
NASA has approved a $30 million milestone agency’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with the company following a recent and successful pad abort test of its Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Data gathered during the test is critical to understanding the safety and performance of the Crew Dragon spacecraft as the company continues on the path to certification for crew missions to the International Space Station, and helping return the ability to launch astronauts from the United States.
Learn more: http://go.nasa.gov/1dYmg96
The exterior skin begins to take shape of what will b
ecome SpaceX’s new 300-foot-long horizontal hangar at the base of Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A. Inside, the company will process the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket before being rolled out for launch. The company also is refurbishing the historic complex for Commercial Crew and Falcon Heavy launches.
“It’s good to see the actual hardware up there and coming together in space,” Lisa Colloredo, associate program manager for Commercial Crew, told a luncheon of the National Space Club today. “It’s really an exciting time, especially for people in Florida who are used to having the hardware close by. From the get-go, the people of Commercial Crew knew this program would only be as successful as our commercial providers. It’s a big job, its difficult and it’s never been done before. I can tell you that industry has really stepped up. This is a hard job and they stepped up in a big way.”
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program partners laid out their plans Monday for flights tests leading up to operational missions taking astronauts to the International Space Station. Both Boeing and SpaceX anticipate uncrewed flight tests followed by crewed flight tests with at least one NASA astronaut aboard the CST-100 and Crew Dragon spacecraft, respectively. After their systems are certified by NASA, they will begin transporting crews to the station. Because of lead time requirements established by the companies in their proposals, they will receive what is known as Authority to Proceed (ATP) when they have met established development-related criteria, and NASA has determined the need for a mission. The Authority to Proceed marks the start of lead time needed to purchase hardware and process their systems for those missions. Boeing may receive the Authority to Proceed before SpaceX, though that does not necessarily mean that Boeing’s CST-100 will fly before the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
SpaceX is preparing a test version of its Crew Dragon for an upcoming flight that will simulate an emergency abort from the launch pad. The Crew Dragon is designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, and the ability to abort from a launch or pad emergency and safely carry crew members out of harm’s way is a critical element for NASA’s next generation of crewed spacecraft. The pad abort test will take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in under its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with NASA, but some data gathered during the development flight will be critical for the company as it continues on the path to certification.
