General – Page 3 – Commercial Crew Program

Commercial Crew Astronauts: Faces of the Future

Download and print your own collector cards of the four astronauts training for Commercial Crew Program flight tests now! Bob Behnken, Eric Boe, Doug Hurley and Suni Wiliams are all veteran space explorers who served as test pilots before joining NASA.

They have not been assigned specific missions or spacecraft at this point, but all four are training very closely with teams at Boeing and SpaceX to learn flight systems and details about the hardware in final development. The companies are working in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and are independently developing human spaceflight systems that can safely fly astronauts to the International Space Station where they can increase the amount of research performed on the orbiting laboratory.

Boeing is building the CST-100 Starliner, which will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and SpaceX is working on the Crew Dragon spacecraft to launch atop its Falcon 9 rocket. Both American-made systems are to launch from Florida’s Space Coast, restoring the United States’ ability to launch astronauts from its own shores.

Click on the cards above or the names below to download the five new trading cards – one for each astronaut plus a group card – and to find out more about the four astronauts and their paths to the stars!

Bob Behnken
Eric Boe
Doug Hurley
Suni Williams
Team

Astronauts Modifying Station Comm Network for CCP Spacecraft

Today, astronauts Tim Peake and Tim Kopra worked on a communications system inside the International Space Station, specifically tailored to the needs of future visiting vehicles, including Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon under development in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Known as Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles, or C2V2, the system uses both radio frequencies and hard-line connections to allow the station and spacecraft to talk to each other throughout rendezvous and docking operations, as well as when the spacecraft is connected to one of the station’s docking ports. The astronauts, two of the three people living and working on the station right now, are routing cables today inside the station.

The Commercial Crew Program spacecraft are designed to take astronauts to the space station using American spacecraft launching from Florida’s Space Coast. Carrying up-to four astronauts at a time plus a time critical of cargo, the spacecraft will add an additional member to the space station crew compliment, an increase that will double the amount of time astronauts have to devote to scientific research, which benefits us on Earth and prepares NASA for its journey to Mars.

Commercial Crew: Building in Safety from the Ground Up in a Unique Way

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is set to return human spaceflight launches to the International Space Station from U.S. soil. NASA shares accountability with our commercial providers, Boeing and SpaceX, to implement a robust process for the development of safe, reliable and cost effective commercial crew transportation systems. NASA’s critical obligation is to ensure crew safety and success for NASA missions, and the providers are each responsible for safe operations of commercial crew transportation systems.

“Collectively, we say our job is to make sure that when the crew enters the spacecraft prelaunch, that they go home to their family,” said Billy Stover, commercial crew’s Safety and Mission Assurance officer. “When we say it like that, it starts to become very crystal clear, at least to our team. When we talk safety, it’s about what can hurt the crew and how can we prevent it. That makes it very tangible, very realistic and something you can actually grasp.”

Learn more about the dedicated safety professionals at NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at http://go.nasa.gov/1U7Te7H

AstroViews: Suni Williams

Veteran space shuttle, International Space Station and Soyuz astronaut Suni Williams is one of four astronauts training for flights aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Noting the start of Women’s History Month today, Williams set the records for most spacewalks by a woman and most time spacewalking by a woman in 2012 during Expedition 32 on the space station.

“We have the opportunity as the commercial crew cadre to go to both Boeing and SpaceX and check out what they’re doing and how they’re coming along with their spacecraft. These are things that are much different from both space shuttle and Soyuz, because they’re taking advantage of the technology from the last two decades or so. Some of the ideas are brand new, it makes us think out of the box from how we’ve done spacecraft and how we’ve flown spacecraft before,” Williams said. Read more from Suni about Commercial Crew, conducting research in orbit and what new astronauts should expect here.

Engineer Applies Skydiving Know-how to Spacecraft Evaluations

One of the engineers NASA depends on to assess the landing systems of the next generation of human-rated spacecraft brings 14 years of experience working with parachutes on launch systems, as well as years of skydiving. Learn how Jeff Thon is uniquely helping shape the future of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at http://go.nasa.gov/1Qmbc0v

Starliner Testing: White Sands, New Mexico

Boeing’s Chris Ferguson highlighted the area at White Sands, New Mexico, where the company will perform a pad abort test of its CST-100 Starliner in 2017. White Sands has been the site of numerous systems tests for a wide variety of spacecraft systems for years. The Starliner is designed with four large engines in its service module that can fire quickly to lift the spacecraft and astronauts aboard out of danger, whether that be away from the launch pad or during ascent into orbit.

Descarga Tus Materiales del Programa de Tripulacion en Espanol!

Hemos publicado tarjetas de coleccionista de Tripulacion Comercial, marcadores y hojas para colorear en español , así que consiga el suyo hoy! Todos son informativos, divertidos, fáciles de descargar, leer, colorear y compartir! Puede descargarlos usando estos enlaces o en https://www.nasa.gov/content/for-fun

We’ve posted Commercial Crew collector cards, bookmarks and coloring sheets in Spanish, so get yours today! All are informative, fun, easy to download, read, color and share! You can download them from these links or at https://www.nasa.gov/content/for-fun

CapCom Y Centro De Control De Mision
Mantenimiento De La Estacion Espacial Internacional
Investigaciones En El Espacio
Marcador – Socios Comerciales
Marcador – Boeing
Marcador – SpaceX
Tarjeta de Coleccionista – Socios Comerciales
Tarjeta de Coleccionista – Blue Origin
Tarjeta de Coleccionista – Boeing
Tarjeta de Coleccionista – Sierra Nevada Corp.
Tarjeta de Coleccionista – SpaceX

Blue Origin Gives a Boost to Reusable Rocket Tech in Landmark Launch

BleOriginReuseLaunch

BlueOriginReuseLanding

Congratulations from NASA’s Commercial Crew Program are again in order for Blue Origin following the launch Friday of its New Shepard sub-orbital rocket and spacecraft. The launch at the company’s West Texas test site set a new mark because it was performed with the same booster that flew a similar mission profile three months ago. The test is significant because rocket reusability could drive down spaceflight hardware costs.

In both flights, the New Shepard booster flew high into the sky before separating from the uncrewed capsule. The flight reached above the 100 kilometer Karman line, which is considered to mark the beginning of space. In both missions, the booster returned to Earth and landed on its four legs. The spacecraft, designed for humans but not carrying people yet, parachuted back to the ground. Blue Origin has worked with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program on the development of the vehicle and rocket engine since 2010. NASA did not have a hand in this flight test, but the space agency will support two milestones this year.

Eve of Launch: 2016 Goals Vital to Commercial Crew Success

jsc2015e071478 NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and its aerospace industry partners Boeing and SpaceX are on the eve of America’s return to human spaceflight launches. By the time the year closes, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will be poised for the flight tests that allow our astronauts to travel to the International Space Station lifting off from Florida’s Space Coast.

It won’t be easy. Successful missions will require a comprehensive testing regimen of numerous systems on the ground and in space. That is why the outline of tasks for 2016 is so important. The result of each evaluation will be vital in the design of the systems. From parachute tests, to launch pad certifications, to the completion of spacecraft that will fly into orbit, this year offers both companies opportunities to build on the momentum of 2015 and carry it through to landmark space achievements in 2017. Read the details of what NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and its partners will be working on in 2016 to set us up for 2017 at http://go.nasa.gov/1UbVMjk

From Voyager to Voyagers

30 years ago, after launching from SLC-41, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft captured images of Uranus during an historic flyby of the gas giant. Today, the same launch pad is getting ready to launch human Voyagers – NASA’s Commercial Crew astronauts – on a new generation of spacecraft.