Commercial Crew Program

Engineers tested a new slide wire emergency escape system at Space Launch Complex 41 as United Launch Alliance continues to modify the pad for upcoming launches of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard ULA’s Atlas V rockets on missions to and from the International Space Station.

There are seats in place on four wires so up to 20 astronauts and ground support personnel can quickly get down from the tower in case a dangerous situation develops during the countdown. The system has been designed with the astronauts’ suit in mind, including making the seats easier to get into and the handles that control speed on the way down easy to operate.

The crew access tower is new to the launch complex, which has hosted uncrewed spacecraft and rockets for years. The egress system is located on the same level as the crew access arm, which provides the connection for astronauts to enter the Starliner spacecraft on top of the Atlas V rocket. It is the first new emergency evacuation system that has been installed at the Florida spaceport since the slide wire baskets used during the Space Shuttle Program.

Apollo missions had similar escape systems in place on its launch towers. The systems have never been needed in an emergency, but are required in case a condition develops before launch that prohibits those on the tower from taking the elevator down to safety. See our photos of the new system on Commercial Crew Program’s Flickr album at https://go.nasa.gov/1EVPaCG Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

Astronaut Michael Good, a veteran spacewalker who is working with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, will discuss the advances in development of NASA’s next generation of human-rated spacecraft. The discussion will come as astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough conduct the next spacewalk to outfit the orbiting laboratory to host new spacecraft in the near future including Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Both companies are working closely with NASA to build and certify the spacecraft to fly up to four astronauts at a time to the station. Watch Good’s interview below on the NASA TV feed, watch it on TV or go to www.nasa.gov/ntv  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve updated our collector cards and bookmarks for our aerospace industry partners in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to once again launch astronauts from the U.S.  You can download and print out your own copies today! Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Blue Origin feature in these items that show each company’s role. You can read more about the low-Earth orbit marketplace emerging for commercial space companies in our feature, “A New Market Emerges: NASA Partnerships Open the Path from Ground to Space.”

NASA’s efforts to establish new partnerships began about 10 years ago with agreements that would become regular cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station by rockets owned and operated by private companies. NASA continues to drive for safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to low-Earth orbit with a growing diversity of crewed vehicles and cargo-carrying craft – all privately developed and operated with insight from NASA’s spaceflight experts. As NASA focuses on deep space exploration, industry stands on the cusp of the emerging marketplace of low-Earth orbit: https://go.nasa.gov/2mJG2hq

Veteran astronaut Bob Behnken is discussing NASA’s Commercial Crew Program development and training during an interview on NASA TV. Behnken is one of four NASA astronauts training for flight tests for the Commercial Crew Program. Boeing and SpaceX are working closely with NASA to build a new generation of human-rated spacecraft capable of flying astronauts to the International Space Station in order to return America’s capability to launch its astronauts from its own soil and to enhance research on the unique orbiting laboratory. Along with Behnken, astronauts Eric Boe, Doug Hurley and Suni Williams are training with Boeing and SpaceX for missions aboard spacecraft and launch systems that each company is building and will operate.

Behnken’s interview comes as NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet conduct a spacewalk this morning to further outfit the station for commercial spacecraft that will dock to the station in the future. You can watch the interview and spacewalk live here on the Commercial Crew Blog, on NASA TV or on the NASA TV website at www.nasa.gov/ntv

A rundown of the spacewalk activities can be seen in the video below, too.

Dana Hutcherson is part of NASA’s team of engineers working with private industry to bring a new class of spacecraft into operation. A veteran of space shuttle processing, Hutcherson is the deputy manager of Systems Engineering and Integration for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Her work is vital to the program’s goal of returning human spaceflight to U.S. soil using a model that calls for closer cooperation among the agency and the private sector. Read more about Hutcherson at https://go.nasa.gov/2nc3WyO.

A flight-sized boilerplate of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner touched down gently under parachutes against the backdrop of the San Andres Mountains in late February, providing a preview of how the spacecraft will return to Earth in upcoming NASA missions. Boeing is developing the Starliner to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

The parachute test is one in a series that will allow the vehicle to pick up the same velocity as the actual spacecraft when returning to Earth in the southwest region of the United States from the International Space Station. The goal of the test series is to prove the design of the Starliner’s parachutes.

“Completion of this test campaign will bring Boeing and NASA one step closer to launching astronauts on an American vehicle and bringing them home safely,” said Mark Biesack, spacecraft systems lead for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

The test began at the Spaceport America facility near the Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. During the test, the Starliner was lifted about 40,000 feet in the air, the flying altitude of a typical commercial airline flight, by a Near Space Corp. helium balloon and then released over the White Sands Missile Range. Read the full story at http://go.nasa.gov/2n8qLq5

The Environmental Control and Life Support System of a spacecraft provides astronauts with breathing air and handles everything from temperature regulation to removing carbon dioxide as astronauts breathe.

That’s why engineers with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program work so closely with the companies building the next generation of human-rated spacecraft to make sure the systems meet agency requirements for missions to the International Space Station. Read more about the systems testing under way at http://go.nasa.gov/2lE7xIm

NASA’s Rami Intriago prides himself on building relationships that are crucial in Commercial Crew Program’s drive to work with aerospace industry to develop a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station. Read more about Intriago at http://go.nasa.gov/2lROVnK

Astronauts Bob Behnken, left, and Eric Boe evaluated the controls, seating and other aspects of the crew compartment of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft during a recent visit to the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Sitting in a mock-up of the Crew Dragon cockpit, the two studied many aspects of the layout including spacing of displays and ease of movement.

The testing is taking place as SpaceX develops the Crew Dragon with an eye toward launching the spacecraft into orbit in the near future on a flight test to and from the International Space Station. Later, the Crew Dragons, launching atop Falcon 9 rockets, will perform operational missions to rotate crews aboard the orbiting laboratory. Companies build high fidelity models of their spacecraft and systems to help determine everything from practicality and operation to fit and comfort.

Boeing also is building a spacecraft and launch system to take astronauts to and from the station. Both companies are developing their systems under contracts with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program as the agency strives to return America’s human launch capability with domestic companies.

Behnken and Boe along with Doug Hurley and Suni Williams are the four NASA astronauts who travel across the country to evaluate design and manufacturing by Boeing and SpaceX. The astronauts have not been assigned to specific test flights yet and are pooling their test pilot expertise and engineering prowess to help the companies meet NASA requirements. Other astronauts also take part in the analysis of spacecraft, launch vehicles and the myriad ground systems that are under construction to make sure they meet NASA’s strict requirements for use, safety and reliability. Photos by SpaceX.