Tag: CCDev
-
Boeing’s CST-100 part of NASA’s intertwined forward path
Boeing Vice President John Elbon believes the CST-100 spacecraft is part of an intertwined forward path for NASA, centralized around the International Space Station. Boeing is currently working towards launching American astronauts to the orbital outpost on its CST-100 capsule, in tandem with developing the Space Launch System (SLS) that will allow for a return…
-
NASA approves SpaceX path towards crewed Dragon debut
NASA has approved SpaceX’s first Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) milestone. Known as the Certification Baseline Review, the milestone covers SpaceX’s plans for the design, manufacture, integration, launch and recovery of the crewed Dragon – through to her test flight – with the goal of achieving certification to launch NASA astronauts to the International Space…
-
Dream Chaser lines up network of public airport landing options
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has presented an overview on the wealth of potential landing site options available to its Dream Chaser spacecraft, outlining how the company could add an array of public airports – with minimum disruption – for both nominal and emergency End Of Mission (EOM) scenarios when the primary CONUS landing sites are…
-
Dream Chaser shows her fight – SNC protest CCtCap decision
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has confirmed it will protest NASA’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract award decision. While the protest is ongoing, the spaceplane will continue her pursuit of international partners, while a bid on the next round of commercial cargo contacts will provide additional near-term focus. Dream Chaser: SNC’s talented workforce have made…
-
Dream Chaser misses out on CCtCAP – Dragon and CST-100 win through
Just weeks ago, it was widely believed both SpaceX’s Dragon V2 and SNC’s Dream Chaser spacecraft were likely to progress into the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) phase of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. On Tuesday, NASA announced Boeing’s CST-100 was the winner of billions of dollars alongside the SpaceX spacecraft. CCtCAP: The three main Commercial Crew…
-
Dragon V2 will initially rely on parachute landings
SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contender, the Dragon V2, will initially return to terra firma under parachutes, assisted by a SuperDraco soft touchdown firing, according to Dragon V2 Program Lead Dr. Garrett Reisman. Eventually, the impressive spacecraft will employ pinpoint propulsive landings, once the technology has been matured via the DragonFly test program. Dragon V2: SpaceX’s crew version of…
-
CCtCap: NASA won’t abandon Commercial Crew loser
As NASA closes in on the next major milestone of its Commercial Crew Program (CCP), the Agency has noted its desire to continue the “sharing of knowledge” with any partner that loses out on continued NASA funding. The first NASA crew to ride on a US commercial vehicle is expected to occur in December, 2017 –…
-
Dream Chaser flies through major CCiCAP challenge
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is one step closer from allowing a human crew to fly inside the Dream Chaser spacecraft, as the vehicle passed yet another Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) milestone. While Milestone 9 has the rather mundane title of Risk Reduction and Technology Readiness Level (TRL), it provided the baby orbiter with a major review…
-
SpaceX lifts the lid on the Dragon V2 crew spacecraft
SpaceX head Elon Musk has unveiled the latest version of his Dragon spacecraft via a highly anticipated event at the SpaceX factory in California. Known as Dragon V2, the spacecraft is the crewed version of the ship that recently returned from its fourth trip to the International Space Station (ISS). This latest Dragon is the…
-
Dream Chaser passes Wind Tunnel tests for CCiCap Milestone
As the US battles to regain its domestic crew launch capability, companies across the nation are making great progress on the vehicles that are in competition to achieve that goal. Monday saw the confirmation Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has passed Milestone 8 in the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) process, a success that relates to Wind Tunnel…