NASA Commercial Crew (CCtCap) test milestones

[DocM]

LC-40's new Dragon crew/cargo tower is nearing completion. 

Besides making possible near-simultaneous Dragon launches, this will also provide a redundant crew/cargo tower in case something takes out LC-39a.

 

 

[DocM]

2023 Commercial Crew review

Unless Boeing gets their rear in gear, SpaceX could launch Crew 9, or even Crew 10, before Boeing launches Starliner 1 (Boeing's first operational crew mission).

Boeing's Starliner team spent over half of 2023 replacing hundreds of feet of tape. They had used  tape with a flammable glue to wrap the wiring harness. Oops.

Don't expect to see any mention of this and a parachute problem in the NASA video, so here's the ARs Technica article

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/06/boeing-stands-down-from-starliner-launch-to-address-recently-found-problems/

 

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by DocM

[DocM]

Starliner CFT 

https://spacenews.com/starliner-arrives-at-the-pad-for-crewed-test-flight/

Quote

Starliner arrives at the pad for crewed test flight

WASHINGTON — Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is now installed on the Atlas 5 rocket that will launch the spacecraft on a crewed test flight to the International Space Station next month.

>

A successful CFT would allow NASA to complete certification of Starliner for regular crew rotation missions, starting with Starliner-1 in early 2025 [...]

 

[TrevorLahey]

Kind of crazy to me that they are allowing crew on this flight test after all of the other issues they've experienced throughout this process.

[IsItPluggedIn]

On 17/04/2024 at 23:32, bguy_1986 said:

Kind of crazy to me that they are allowing crew on this flight test after all of the other issues they've experienced throughout this process.

I feel like if it was anybody else NASA would have made them do another test flight. I would have considering how many issues they have had.

I do wonder what the outcry would be like if they lose the crew, considering Dragons success. If Dragon wasn't already successful you would see lots of people saying to scrap the program and NASA should build their own. But Dragon is successful and the traditional contractor that NASA uses had failed. Would be an interesting time.

[DocM]

On 17/04/2024 at 19:30, IsItPluggedIn said:

I feel like if it was anybody else NASA would have made them do another test flight. I would have considering how many issues they have had.

 

CFT originally had 4 crew members.

One was a Boeing engineer who dropped out, with a persistent rumor that it was a spousal veto after the first disastrous test flight. 

Since then the crew has  been trimmed from 3 to 2, and I think that's 2 too many. I'm absolutely in favor of another test flight. Unfortunately, there aren't enough Atlas V vehicles. They are all spoken for, and building more is out because of its Russian RD-180 engine. Vulcan is also not fully qualified, and an adapter for Falcon 9 would take too long to qualify. 

Starliner is snake-bit.

 

On 17/04/2024 at 19:30, IsItPluggedIn said:

I do wonder what the outcry would be like if they lose the crew, considering Dragons success. If Dragon wasn't already successful you would see lots of people saying to scrap the program and NASA should build their own. But Dragon is successful and the traditional contractor that NASA uses had failed. Would be an interesting time.

 

If there were a loss of crew on this mission Boeing would be in a world of hurt, their  already tattered reputation being further soiled by 2 more graves. 

Commercial Crew 3 will include new entrants, including Dream Chaser 200 which is getting a new airframe. The cargo version should be flying this year.

Blue Origin is also talking about CC3, but I'm not taking them very seriously until New Glenn flies. They are still having trouble with BE-4 engine deliveries.

If Starliner manages to fly its 6 operational missions without killing or scaring the bejesus out of anyone, I think they will walk away from CC3. They may quit  sooner if Starliner has more problems. 

India should be flying a crew vehicle within a few years, so they could be an interesting addition. Some important tests coming up. 

[DocM]

NASA safety panel: understatement of the century 

 

[DocM]

This was kind of expected, 

Even if Starliner CFT goes well, it's looking like Russia will not fly a cosmonaut on Starliner-1, its first operational mission. 

Can't disagree with them...

https://spacenews.com/russia-may-skip-first-operational-starliner-mission/

 

[DocM]

Crew Dragon propulsive splashdown goes live...

A contingency against parachute failure, one wonders if they will extend it to land landings. 

 

Propulsive as a land landing concept 

 

[DocM]

SuperDraco propulsive landing hover test from 2016. Notice the vehicle can maintain orientation and control. The tether line is just for safety. 

 

[DocM]

Sounds like NASA's Inspector General will be looking into the decision to fly astronauts on Starliner 

You just had to know this was coming....

 

 

[DocM]

Crew 10 

A new Crew Dragon has hatched

Launch: NET February, 2025

Vehicle: C213 (new)

Commander: Anne McClain (NASA)

Pilot: Nichole Ayers (NASA)

Mission Specialist 1: Takuya Onishi (JAXA)

Mission Specialist 2: Kirill Peskov (Roscosmos)

Mission Patch

 

 

[DocM]

This could be interesting

If Boeing drops out of commercial crew there would need to be a replacement. 

During the US budget process there were Congressional hearings which discussed converting an existing US cargo vehicle into a crew vehicle to replace Starliner.

There are only two us cargo vehicles which do not have a crew variant; the Northrop Grumman Cygnus and the Sierra Space Dream Chaser.

Cygnus is essentially a tin can with a docking port and propulsion system. Not very likely. 

Dream Chaser is a spaceplane, the cargo variant of which is to fly early 2025. Sierra is already talked about turning it into a crew vehicle, DC-200, testing to start in  2026.