Getting a spacecraft away from a rocket in a launch emergency is one of the toughest tasks handed to spacecraft designers and engineers. We talked in 2012 with some of the NASA managers, engineers and designers who were working through some of the challenges and potential solutions for Commercial Crew Program projects here. These systems will see critical tests coming up this year.
The CST-100 development team and NASA engineers recently accomplished a hardware review and software testing for a spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to low-Earth orbit. Separate, in-depth evaluations of the launch vehicle adapter that will connect Boeing’s CST-100 to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and the detection system that would signal an abort during an emergency were performed. The CST-100, short for Crew Space Transportation, is one of several spacecraft under development by aerospace industry partners working with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to establish crew transportation to low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil. You can read more details about the work here.
We are unveiling a new blog today to keep everyone up-to-date on the progress of development of America’s next generation of spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts into low-Earth orbit! You can come to this site for the latest videos, updates and photos from NASA and our industry partners who are working together in a new way to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation into space. 2014 is big year for this effort and we plan to bring you all the excitement of flight and launch abort system tests while still providing the important details along the way. We’ll also share the stories of some of the people involved in this unique effort. So subscribe to our blog or check back often to see how CCP is progressing.
