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ЦитироватьNASA still making the case for commercial crew
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: November 30, 2012

NASA's top administrators, baffled by continued congressional resistance to funding the agency's commercial crew program, this week said supporters should revamp how they advocate for privatized human spaceflight.

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File photo of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
 
 After the retirement of the space shuttle, NASA is turning to the private sector to supply U.S. crew transportation to the International Space Station. Until a domestic provider becomes operational, NASA has procured astronaut seats on Russian Soyuz vehicles.

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The commercial crew transportation initiative was announced by the Obama administration in February 2010, but nearly three years later, NASA's top managers are still selling the program's merits to lawmakers.

In August, NASA announced Boeing Co., SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp. won agreements to receive up to $1.1 billion through May 2014 to continue designing and testing human-rated commercial rockets and spaceships. NASA expects at least one of the companies will have an operational crew transportation system by 2017.

Concerned that NASA was shortchanging other priorities, including the government-owned Space Launch System and Orion exploration programs, Congress declined to appropriate the White House's requested funding for the commercial crew program for the last two years.

The space agency is spending less than half the money it said it needed for fiscal year 2013, which began Oct. 1. Congress was unable to pass a federal budget before the last fiscal year's spending package expired, and lawmakers extended funding to NASA and other agencies at fiscal 2012 levels.

The continuing resolution runs until March 27 and extends the commercial crew program's $406 million annual budget for the first six months of fiscal 2013, affecting the rate at which the program can spend money. The Obama administration proposed giving the commercial crew program $830 million in fiscal 2013.

"We are obviously not communicating this well," said Lori Garver, NASA's deputy administrator, who said the agency has had a tough time selling commercial crew transportation and technology development funding on Capitol Hill. "I can't believe we're losing this argument."

So far, NASA expects the commercial crew milestones to remain on schedule through the timeframe of the continuing resolution, according to Candrea Thomas, an agency spokesperson.

Even if Congress passes a spending bill with additional commercial crew funding, it is unlikely the program will receive a budget near the White House's request. That is because the commercial crew budget for the first six months of fiscal 2013 was less than 50 percent of the Obama administration proposal, meaning any boost in the budget for the second half of fiscal 2013 would have to go beyond the White House request just to meet the funding level NASA anticipated.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, speaking to the NASA Advisory Council on Wednesday, said commercial transportation is "absolutely essential to the success and survival of the International Space Station. Unless we want to be dependent [on Russia] for time immemorial to get crews and cargo the station, then we have to have an American capability."

In its latest agreement with the Russian space agency, NASA is paying nearly $63 million per round-trip seat on Soyuz missions. NASA expects domestic carriers to charge less than Russia's price.

Earlier this year, lawmakers led by Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., pushed NASA to sel ect one company to continue the next phase of commercial crew development. NASA officials fought back, saying multiple companies should continue work, ensuring competition and lowering total costs.

Wolf is chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee responsible for drafting NASA's budget.

Wolf and Bolden agreed in June - after a successful test flight by SpaceX, one of the most visible commercial crew competitors - that NASA would ensure continued competition by selecting two companies for full funding awards in the next phase of the program.

Boeing and SpaceX won agreements worth $460 million and $440 million, respectively, to work on their CST-100 and Dragon capsules. Sierra Nevada was selected to continue development of the Dream Chaser lifting body spacecraft at a slower pace, receiving an award worth up to $212 million.

"In a nation that was established on free speech and public dialogue, there is no public dialogue on space and human exploration," Bolden said. "The only way to do that is out-and-out duking it out with the Congress. It's an opportunity we have to engage, and it's the closest thing we have to public dialogue. I wish we did it more in public forums."

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File photo of NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver. Credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers
 
 Despite the progress, the backlash fr om Congress and many aerospace veterans, including Apollo-era astronauts, on the commercial crew program does not sit well with Garver.

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"We somehow have not characterized it in a way that's been able to get those types of people who absolutely should believe in what we're doing to see that it's going to allow NASA to advance that much more quickly and positively," Garver told a NASA advisory panel Monday.

Garver then launched into rebuttals of several arguments used by critics of commercial spaceflight.

"The safety issue? In view, this country trusts the private sector will all types of safety issues beyond what we're discussing here," Garver said. "Welfare to billionaires? How can our program be considered welfare to billionaires, when we don't talk about that with companies we do business with now, who don't take financial risks? Isn't that welfare?"

One feature of NASA's pacts with commercial spaceflight companies is the agreements are public-private partnerships. Each firm is expected to provide private investment to go along with government funding, and companies take on any budget overruns.

"Facts are facts, and we need to be able to communicate this," Garver said. "I don't think it is productive to have that kind of misinformation out there, when our commercial programs allow us to return the best value to the taxpayers."

Garver highlighted the commercial program's ability to ignite innovation, create jobs, and return the U.S. commercial space industry - including the launch services business - to a leadership position in a hotly competitive environment with Europe, Russia and China.

"People think spaceflight is over because the shuttle is not flying," Garver said. "It's part of this overall communications challenge that we have to let people know NASA is not over."

Garver said: "We aren't going to just keep doing the same things over and over because that's not what advances the economy and society."

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ЦитироватьCommercial Crew Program Goals

SpaceX has an ambitious schedule of seven milestones to complete this year under the NASA-funded commercial crew program which is aimed at transforming the Dragon freighter into a crew vehicle and human rating the Falcon 9 booster.

The company's efforts this year are set to culminate in a pad abort test in December. SpaceX is eligible for up to $440 million during this phase of the commercial crew program, which ends in 2014.

CCiCAP Milestones for 2013

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5.   Pad Abort Test Review. SpaceX will hold a Pad Abort Test Review to demonstrate the maturity of the pad abort test article design and test concept of operations.   
March 2013 - $20 Million

6.   Human Certification Plan Review. SpaceX will hold a Human Certification Plan Review to present the Human Certification Plan. This Human Certification Plan Review will cover plans for certification of the design of the spacecraft, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations systems.   
May 2013   - $50 Million

7.   On-Orbit and Entry Preliminary Design Review (PDR). SpaceX will hold an On-Orbit and Entry Preliminary Design Review (PDR) to demonstrate that the overall CTS preliminary design for orbit, rendezvous and docking with the ISS, and entry flight regimes meets all requirements with acceptable risk and within schedule constraints and that it establishes the basis for proceeding with detailed design.   
July 2013 - $35 Million

8.   In-Flight Abort Test Review. SpaceX will hold an In-Flight Abort Test Review to demonstrate the maturity of the in-flight abort test article design and test concept of operations.   
September 2013 - $10 Million

9.   Safety Review. SpaceX will hold a Safety Review at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, or a nearby facility to demonstrate that the CTS design is progressing toward meeting the Commercial Crew Program's safety goals.   
October 2013 - $50 Million

10.   Flight Review of Upgraded Falcon 9. SpaceX will conduct a review of a launch of the upgraded Falcon 9 launch vehicle demonstrating the operation of enhanced first-stage M1D engines, stage separation systems, enhanced second-stage MVacD engine and mission-critical vehicle telemetry during flight. Demonstration of the upgraded launch vehicle will serve as a risk reduction for the planned inflight abort test.   
November 2013   - $0

11.   Pad Abort Test. SpaceX will conduct a pad abort test of the Dragon spacecraft. The scenario where an abort is initiated while the CTS is still on the pad is a design driver for the launch abort system as it dictates the total impulse and also requires parachute deployment in close proximity to the ground.   
December 2013   - $30 Million

TOTAL:   $195 Million

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ЦитироватьSpace 2013: Boeing to Tackle 13 Commercial Crew Milestones
Posted by Doug Messier
on January 8, 2013, at 5:18 am

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Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft will use landing bags. (Credit: Boeing)

The Boeing Company has a big job ahead in 2013 in the development of its seven-person CST-100 spacecraft. The company is scheduled to complete 13 milestones out of a total of 19 as part of the NASA funded Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCAP) program.

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Some of the key milestones for the coming year include:

 Service Module Propulsion System Critical Design Review
 Launch Vehicle Adapter Critical Design Review
 Emergency Detection System (EDS) Standalone Testing.

Boeing completed the first three of its 19 milestones last year for $126.9 million. The company is scheduled to complete an additional three milestones during the first four months of 2014.

A full list of 2013 milestones are shown below.

4.   Software Integrated Engineering Release 2.0. Boeing shall demonstrate the software release [REDACTED] closed loop with guidance, Navigation & Control (GN &C) for the flight ascent phase.   
January 2013 - $20.4 Million

5.   Landing & Recovery/Ground Communication Design Review. Boeing shall conduct a Landing & Recovery / Ground Communication Design Review which establishes the baseline plan, for equipment, and infrastructure for conducting CST-100 spacecraft flight operations fulfilling both ground communications and landing and recovery operations.   
January 2013   - $28.8 Million

6.   Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) Preliminary Design Review (PDR). The LVA PDR demonstrates that the preliminary design meets requirements with acceptable risk and within the cost and schedule constraints and establishes the basis for proceeding with detailed design.   
February 2013 - $45.5 Million

7.   Integrated Stack Force and Moment Wind Tunnel Test. Boeing shall develop a test matrix, fabricate the necessary test models, and perform an integrated launch vehicle force and moment wind tunnel test to validate predictions on integrated Crew Module (CM)/Service Module (SM)/Launch Vehicle (LV) stack for ascent.   
April 2013 - $37.8 Million

8.   Dual Engine Centaur (DEC) Liquid Oxygen Duct Development Test. Boeing shall complete a Dual Engine Centaur Liquid Oxygen Duct Development Test.   
May 2013 - $21.5 Million

9.   Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control (OMAC) Engine Development Test. Boeing shall complete the OMAC Engine development test to support component, subsystem and CST-100 vehicle level development.   
July 2013 - $50.2 Million

10.   Spacecraft Primary Structures Critical Design Review (CDR). A Spacecraft Primary Structures CDR confirms that the requirements, detailed designs, and plans for test and evaluation form a satisfactory basis for fabrication, assembly and structural testing.   
October 2013 - $8.6 Million

11.   Service Module Propulsion System Critical Design Review. Boeing shall perform a Service Module (SM) Propulsion System Critical Design Review (CDR) after major SM Propulsion components have completed their individual CDR. CDR confirms that the requirements, detailed designs, and plans for test and evaluation form a satisfactory basis for production and integration.   
November 2013 - $7.5 Million

12.   Mission Control Center Interface Demonstration Test. The Mission Control Center (MCC) Interface Demonstration Test demonstrates the linkage between the MCC and the Boeing Avionics Software Integration Facility which is a precursor to integrated simulation capability for flight operations training.
September 2013 - $7.9 Million

13.   Launch Vehicle Adapter Critical Design Review. Boeing shall complete a Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) Critical Design Review (CDR). CDR confirms that the requirements, detailed designs, and plans for test and evaluation form a satisfactory basis for production and integration.   
September 2013 - $13.5 Million

14.   Emergency Detection System (EDS) Standalone Testing. Boeing shall complete the Initial EDS Testing – Launch Vehicle Stand-alone.   
October 2013 - $13.8 Million

15.   Certification Plan Review. Boeing shall complete a review of the CCTS Certification Plan which defines our strategy leading to a crewed flight test.   November 2013   $5.8 Million
16.   Avionics Software Integration Lab (ASIL) Multi-String Demonstration Test. Boeing shall demonstrate the [REDACTED] flight software closed loop with GN&C for the flight ascent phase.   
December 2013 - $24.9 Million

TOTAL:    $286.2 Million

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ЦитироватьNASA, industry committed to human spaceflight
By Rebecca Regan
Spaceport News

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NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and its industry partners have spent the last few years investing their time, money, efforts and reputations into shaping America's next-generation human spaceflight capabilities.

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"This program really brings new meaning to 'skin in the game,'" said Phil McAlister, NASA Commercial Spaceflight Development director, during a televised status upd ate Jan. 9 at Kennedy Space Center.
NASA and company representatives participated in the upd ate to discuss their accomplishments to date and lay out their plans for 2013 and beyond as they work toward ensuring America has safe, reliable and affordable crew transportation systems launching from U.S. soil by mid-decade.
"The agreements are paid-for-performance milestones, so our partners only get paid when they show demonstrative progress toward developing their crew transportation systems,"
McAlister said. "This allows us to ensure that our partners are making good progress and are making good use of taxpayer money."
Agreements made with The Boeing Company, Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) Space Systems and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) during NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative are set to bring about some exciting milestones this year.

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Boeing is on track to pick up the keys this summer to Kennedy's former Orbiter Processing Facility-3, now called the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF), to begin manufacturing its CST-100 spacecraft. C3PF has been undergoing modifications by Space Florida to support the clean-floor processing needs of the spacecraft. Incorporating astronaut feedback into the cockpit design and
demonstrating flight software, ground operations and landing/recovery plans are on tap for 2013.
"Everything is focused on making sure we properly and aggressively mature the design so that we can have a very robust critical design review at the end of this phase," said John Mulholland, Boeing's Commercial Programs Space Exploration vice president and program manager. "It will give us confidence that we can move in with very low risk into the qualification and flight demonstration phase."
Boeing's subcontractor, United Launch Alliance, will focus on verifying that its dual-engine Centaur can perform as planned on the Atlas V rocket and testing the launch vehicle adaptor between the spacecraft and the rocket.
Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne also will complete additional propulsion testing on the CST-100's launch abort engines.

SNC is gearing up for its first free-flight test of the Dream Chaser spacecraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California early this year. During the test, the vehicle will be dropped for a full autonomous flight to demonstrate the aerodynamics and controllability during the approach-and-landing phase that culminates in a hard surface runway landing and runway rollout.
"The facility there has been the home of so many tests, including the shuttle tests, and we're going to be picking that mantle up and starting our first flight tests here in the first quarter of this year," said Mark Sirangelo, Sierra Nevada Corp. vice president and SNC Space Systems chairman.
The company currently is testing its Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) and reaction control system, performing landing gear tests and flight simulations. Testing of the company's hybrid rocket motors is ongoing at its facility in California.

SpaceX also has ambitions to fly its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule during CCiCap. A pad abort test scheduled for late 2013 will prepare the company for an in-flight abort test in 2014.
"We'll end this year with a flight-like, full-scale pad abort test for certification as well as risk mitigation," said Garrett Reisman, SpaceX Commercial Crew project manager. "We're going to take a Dragon, as flight-like as possible, take it from our pad over at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and demonstrate our ability to get away from the Falcon 9 on the pad from zero altitude and zero airspeed if we were ever having a bad day on the pad."
Reisman said they'll spend CCiCap stressing and bending their primary Dragon structure to prove it's ready to be manufactured. They'll culminate their agreement with an in-flight abort test during which Dragon will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and then light up its SuperDracos to prove the abort system could safely whisk the spacecraft and its crew members away from a failing rocket and safely splash down in the Atlantic Ocean.
"Having strapped into a rocket before, I can tell you that I have personal and emotional reasons of why I want to build a vehicle that is safer than anything that's ever flown before by an order of magnitude," said Riesman, who is a two-time space shuttle astronaut and International Space Station flight crew engineer.

The same three CCiCap partners were awarded contracts that kick off Jan. 22. Called the Certification Products Contracts (CPC), the initiative will allow certification plans to take shape for agency missions to the International Space Station.
During the conference, Blue Origin also announced its plans to continue its Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) partnership with NASA in an unfunded capacity.
The company previously received $22 million to advance its subsystem technologies, a new Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen engine and pusher escape system.
A continuation of a CCDev2 partnership would allow the company to receive expert feedback from NASA on the progress of its engine development, biconic-shaped spacecraft and integration plans for future flights.
As the companies se t out to prove their systems can be called upon for crewed missions to low-Earth orbit, the program is se tting its sights on a second phase of certification contracts for station missions, which could be announced in mid-2014.
"I think the partnership between NASA and each of these companies clearly shows that we have a very vibrant space industry in the United States," said Ed Mango, CCP manager. "The four companies here today are capable and are the leading edge of what it takes to get folks back into low-Earth orbit over time."

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ЦитироватьSpaceX Crewed Dragon: Pressing home the advantage
January 10, 2013 by Chris Bergin

With all three Commercial Crew partners providing a status update at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) this week, SpaceX have outlined their path towards launching a crew on their Dragon spacecraft in 2015. With the advantage of already flying cargo missions on a near-human rated Dragon, SpaceX are leading the drive to return domestic crew launch capability to the United States.

SpaceX Crewed Path:

ЦитироватьОбама подписал закон о сотрудничестве с Россией в космосе
15 января 2013, 05:22

Президент США Барак Обама подписал закон о продлении сотрудничества с Россией в космической сфере до 2020 года, сообщает пресс-служба Белого дома.

«Президент подписал в понедельник закон, который продлевает с 1 июля 2016 года до 31 декабря 2020 года полномочия НАСА по выплатам России за работу на Международной космической станции. Закон также продлевает на 2013 год полномочия министерства транспорта по осуществлению выплат по жалобам о причинении вреда, вызванного коммерческими запусками», - говорится в сообщении пресс-службы, передает РИА «Новости».

Закон был принят конгрессом в конце декабря 2012 года

ЦитироватьCommercial Crew Efforts To Be Hit Hard By Sequestration
By Jefferson Morris

February 15, 2013

NASA's topline budget for fiscal 2013 will be reduced by $726.7 million as compared to its budget request if sequestration takes effect March 1, with a significant portion of that cut being absorbed by the agency's efforts to nurture commercial systems for transporting crew and cargo to low Earth orbit.

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"Sequestration would reduce Commercial Space Flight funding by $441.6 million below the FY 2013 budget request," writes Administrator Charles Bolden in a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.).

As a result, NASA would not be able to make fourth-quarter milestone payments to the industry teams working on the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) program, including for SpaceX's Inflight Abort Test Review, Boeing's Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control Engine Development Test, and the Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Integrated System Safety Analysis Review #2, according to Bolden.

"Overall availability of commercial crew transportation services would be significantly delayed, thereby extending our reliance on foreign providers for crew transportation to the International Space Station," he says.

The overall Exploration budget would see a reduction of $332.2 million as compared to its $3.9 billion fiscal 2013 request.

The agency's Space Technology budget would see a steep reduction of $149.4 million, as compared to its $699 million fiscal 2013 request. As a result, NASA says it would have to consider options including canceling technology development projects; scrapping several flight demonstrations; eliminating or scaling back annual solicitations for Space Technology Research Grants, NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts and the Small Spacecraft Technology Program; reducing the number of Flight Opportunity program flights and payloads in fiscal 2013 and beyond; and eliminating the Centennial Challenges prize program.

The agency's science budget would take a relatively modest hit of $51.1 million, as compared to its $4.9 billion fiscal 2013 request. This would result in reducing funding for new Explorer and Earth Venture class missions by 10-15%, and reducing competed research and analysis funding by 2%.

Aeronautics would see a reduction of $7.3 million, as compared to its $551.5 million fiscal 2013 request. And the agency's construction programs would see a reduction of $251.7 million, as compared to their $619.2 million fiscal 2013 request.

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ЦитироватьCommercial crew program threatened by budget cuts
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: February 23, 2013

Automatic spending cuts due to go into effect March 1 would likely extend U.S. reliance on Russia for human spaceflight, delay development of badly-needed next-generation weather satellites, and force a reduction in radar scans searching for space debris, according to Obama administration officials.

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Artist's concept of Boeing's CST-100 commercial crew spacecraft. Credit: Boeing
 
That's if Congress and the White House don't act to avoid the across-the-board cuts, which will be automatically triggered at the end of next week without a compromise on how to deal with the federal government's budget deficit.

NASA would lose about $894 million fr om its current budget outlook in the period between March 1 and Sept. 30, the end of fiscal year 2013.

According to a letter to the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the space agency's commercial crew program would suffer the brunt of the budget cuts.

By the second half of 2013, NASA says it will be unable to make payments to companies working on private spaceships under the agency's commercial crew program.

"Overall availability of commercial crew transportation services would be significantly delayed, thereby extending our reliance on foreign providers for crew transportation to the International Space Station," Bolden wrote in a letter to Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

NASA has public-private partnership agreements with Boeing Co., SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp. to fund the design and testing of commercial spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to the space station. NASA makes payments to the companies upon completion of predetermined development milestones.

Until a commercial provider becomes operational, which NASA projects by 2017, U.S. astronauts will ride Russian Soyuz spacecraft while voyaging to the space station and back to Earth.

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Bolden wrote the automatic cuts, known as sequestration, could cause launch delays for NASA's scientific research satellites and potential cancellations of space technology projects, such as advanced communications, radiation protection, nuclear systems and other fields.

The White House and Congress agreed on the sequestration plan in 2011 as part of a compromise to raise the federal government's debt lim it. Sequestration was meant to be a "poison pill" to compel leaders in both parties to reach an agreement to rein in the budget deficit.

But lawmakers could not come to a resolution, and Congress reached a deal Jan. 1 to put off the spending cuts for two months and extend current income tax rates for individuals earning less than $400,000 and households earning less than $450,000.

Sequestration was originally set to go into effect at the beginning of 2013. It impacts all federal discretionary spending, slashing 8.2 percent annually from non-defense government agencies and 9.4 percent from military programs.

Unless Congress and the Obama administration agree on targeted budget cuts - sparing some programs and still hitting others - every corner of the government's military, research and regulatory apparatus will see their funding reduced.

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Artist's concept of next-generation GOES weather satellites. Credit: NOAA
 
NOAA's next-generation geostationary weather observatories, currently scheduled for launch in 2015 and 2017, would face a delay of two or three years if the automatic budget cuts take effect and stay in place.

"This delay would increase the risk of a gap in satellite coverage and diminish the quality of weather forecasts and warnings," said Rebecca Blank, acting Secretary of Commerce.

Defense Department officials say sequestration would be devastating to the military, predicting thousands of furloughs and decreased combat readiness.

Air Force Space Command announced Feb. 8 it would reduce some missile warning and space surveillance operations.

Gen. Mark Welsh, Air Force chief of staff, told a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 13 that Space Command would curtail observations using secondary radars to monitor for missile attacks and track objects in orbit.

The Air Force uses satellites and a network of ground-based radars for the early warning and surveillance tasks.

"We don't have as much redundancy now in the system and we don't have as much capacity to track objects in orbit," Welsh said.

Even if sequestration takes hold, it could be short-lived. The government's current budget resolution runs out March 27, and Congress must pass another budget by then to avoid a government shutdown. The new budget could include deficit reductions directed at specific programs, instead of across-the-board cuts.

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ЦитироватьUSCV-1: NASA planners slip first ISS commercial crew mission to late 2017
April 5, 2013 by Chris Bergin

The first NASA crew to ride to the International Space Station on a commercial spacecraft may have to wait until at least the end of 2017, after NASA's planning group realigned the US Crew Vehicle -1 (USCV-1) mission to a launch date of November 30, 2017. The new schedule includes the Russian Soyuz manifested as a back-up option, through to at least 2019.

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Commercial Crew:

ЦитироватьNASA Commercial Crew Partner Boeing Completes Launch Vehicle Adapter Review
Posted by Doug Messier
on April 5, 2013, at 2:43 pm

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An artist concept of Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft atop its integrated launch vehicle, United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket. (Credit: Boeing)

An artist concept of Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft atop its integrated launch vehicle, United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket. (Credit: Boeing)

HOUSTON (NASA PR) – The Boeing Company of Houston, a NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) partner, has successfully completed a preliminary design review (PDR) of the component that would connect the company's new crew capsule to its rocket.

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The review is one of six performance milestones Boeing has completed for NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative, which is intended to make available commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial customers. The company is on track to complete all 19 of its milestones during CCiCap.

Boeing is one of three U.S. companies NASA is working with during CCiCap to set the stage for a crewed orbital demonstration mission around the middle of the decade. Future development and certification initiatives eventually will lead to the availability of human spaceflight services for NASA to send its astronauts to the International Space Station.

The component that was reviewed is called the Launch Vehicle Adapter. The critical structure is being designed by United Launch Alliance (ULA) to join Boeing's Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft to ULA's Atlas V rocket, just above the rocket's second stage.

"Solid systems engineering integration is critical to the design of a safe system," said Ed Mango, NASA's CCP manager. "Boeing and all of NASA's partner companies are working to build in proper systems integration into their designs. This review with Boeing and their partner ULA was a good review of the current state of these important design interfaces."

In recent weeks, teams from NASA, Boeing and ULA met at ULA's headquarters in Denver, Colo., to assess requirements and capabilities to safely launch people into low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil once again. The PDR was a culmination of early development and preliminary analysis to demonstrate the design is ready to proceed with detailed engineering.

"The PDR was an outstanding integrated effort by the Boeing, ULA and NASA teams," said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Boeing Commercial Programs. "The ULA design leverages the heritage hardware of the Atlas V to integrate with the CST-100, setting the baseline for us to proceed to wind tunnel testing and the Launch Segment-level PDR in June."

In addition to the Launch Vehicle Adapter PDR, Boeing recently completed two additional CCiCap milestones, including the Engineering Release (ER) 2.0 software release and the Landing and Recovery Ground Systems and Ground Communications design review.

The ER 2.0 software release was completed Jan. 25 in Boeing's Avionics and Software Integration Facility Lab in Houston. This test laid the foundation for the software structure to control and fly the spacecraft, as well as communicate with pilots and ground systems.

The landing and recovery ground systems and ground communications design review Jan. 16 to 18 in Titusville, Fla., established the baseline plan for equipment and infrastructure needed for CST-100 spacecraft ground communications and landing and recovery operations.

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program and its aerospace industry partners, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

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ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
Рационально ли разрабатывать три с половиной корабля для полётов к МКС, если её закрывать в 2020? Ради 3-4-х лет эксплуатации плодить весь зоопарк?

ЦитироватьCommercial Crew Partners Continue to Reach Milestones
             
Posted by Doug Messier on June 4, 2013, at 5:29 am
 in News

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WASHINGTON, DC (NASA PR) – NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) partners continue to meet all scheduled CCiCap milestones, bringing the nation closer to its goal of having a U.S. capability for human access to space and ending reliance on foreign vehicles. Since August 2012, 15 of the 42 planned milestones have been successfully completed.
In March, Boeing completed the Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) Preliminary Design Review (PDR), demonstrating the preliminary design of the LVA met mission requirements with an acceptable risk and within the cost and schedule constraints.
The LVA attaches the CST-100 spacecraft to the Atlas V launch vehicle. The successful PDR provides the basis for proceeding to the next design phase: the detailed design of the LVA. In April, Boeing completed its integrated vehicle wind tunnel test to fully understand the aerodynamic wind buffet environments over the launch vehicle and reduce potential design risks.
SpaceX completed its Pad Abort Test Plan Review in March. The eventual pad abort test will demonstrate the effectiveness of the crew Dragon spacecraft launch abort system in a pad abort scenario. The pad abort test article consists of a Dragon test capsule sitting on top of a trunk structure in the center of the pad. A successful abort test will carry the Dragon capsule away fr om the launch pad and towards the ocean. The main parachutes will deploy once the capsule is stabilized. The Review Milestone determined that the test article is capable of meeting the pad abort test requirements and schedule.
Garrett Reisman, Crew Dragon program manager for SpaceX said, "SpaceX is committed to making Dragon one of the safest spacecrafts ever flown. In partnership with NASA, we are moving steadily towards this goal and look forward to returning human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S."
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) continues to make progress readying its Engineering Test Article (ETA) for flight testing this summer. The vehicle was shipped to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in May, wh ere further assembly, integration and testing is being performed. In addition to the ETA work, Dream Chaser subsystems are undergoing testing in support of future CCiCap milestones, which include ongoing wind tunnel testing of the thermal protection system design and testing of its green propulsion system.
Jim Voss, SNC vice president of Space Exploration Systems and Dream Chaser program manager, said "we are excited to be working with NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center for our flight tests. The value of the partnership between SNC and NASA is highlighted by having the world's best flight test organization assisting with our Dream Chaser test program. This gives us confidence that the upcoming flights will be successful. Having landed in the Shuttle at Dryden I have first hand knowledge of the great work done by the DFRC team."

ЦитироватьULA Completes Dual Engine Centaur Preliminary Design Review for CCiCap

Posted by Marc Boucher
Posted June 13, 2013 7:53 AM
             
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/86974.jpg)
©ULA File photo.
 
 United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and initial round of development testing for the Dual Engine Centaur in support of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Under Independent Research and Development (IRAD) funding, ULA is re-establishing the Dual Engine Centaur (DEC) configuration for performance and human space flight safety. Atlas V is capable of flying both a single and dual engine on the Centaur second stage, but most satellite missions require only a single engine due to the powerful capability of the Atlas V booster to loft the payload into orbit.
"DEC provides a performance improvement over Single Engine Centaur (SEC) that is extremely beneficial for Low Earth Orbit missions," said George Sowers, ULA's vice president of Human Launch Services. "For human spaceflight, the increased thrust of the DEC allows the trajectory to be 'flattened' to provide, a safer re-entry environment for the crew in the unlikely event of a crew abort situation."
The PDR was attended by ULA's Commercial Crew Customers, Boeing, Sierra Nevada and NASA as well as other government customers. The participants reviewed the detailed design required to implement the DEC on the current configuration of Centaur. The dual configuration has flown on Atlas more than 160 times. However, with the increased performance of the Atlas V booster, it has not been required since 2003. The current configuration of Atlas V uses a single RL10 engine.
The development testing was conducted at Innovative Engineering Solutions of Murrietta, Calif., and included liquid oxygen duct gimbal waterflow testing to validate flow characteristics, and loads testing at liquid nitrogen temperatures to determine loads and stresses, and the ability of the duct to survive the flight-like environment.
"The testing was successful and met all of the criteria," said Sowers. "The next major milestone for the DEC design is the Critical Design Review scheduled for next spring."
The Boeing Company, with its CST-100, and Sierra Nevada Corporation, with its Dream Chaser®, both plan to use the flight-proven, reliable Atlas V as the launch vehicle.
With 38 successful missions spanning a decade of operational service, the commercially developed Atlas V is uniquely qualified to provide launch services for the Crew Transportation System. Because Atlas V is already certified by NASA to fly the nation's most complex exploration missions, as well as critical Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office national security missions, ULA is able to provide a wealth of flight data, design implementation, detailed system and sub-system analysis, qualification and certification..
ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., and Harlingen, Texas. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

 For more information on ULA, visit the ULA Web site at www.ulalaunch.com (http://www.ulalaunch.com), or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch (http://www.facebook.com/ulalaunch) and twitter.com/ulalaunch (http://twitter.com/ulalaunch).

ЦитироватьBoeing, SpaceX Detail Capsule Test Plans
By Guy Norris
Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology
July 01, 2013
   
As tow tests of Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Dream Chaser lifting body begin in California, the two competing capsule-based contenders for NASA's commercial crew program (CCP) are running through a fast-paced series of milestones toward the start of planned demonstration flights.

Спойлер

While the three-way contest for NASA's competitive Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCAP) initiative was already highly charged, the outcome of the upcoming tests has become even more crucial given increasing budget pressure. The program, which aims to develop U.S. human spacelaunch capability to succeed the now retired space shuttle, has been slipping as Congress continues to cut funding. The shortfall has forced NASA to revise its acquisition plan that notionally calls for a request for proposals in fiscal 2016, and first U.S.-crewed service flights to the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2017—two years later than originally planned.

To qualify, the teams must pass a rigorous, two-phase certification process which will include at least one crewed ISS mission in fiscal 2017. However, the squeeze on funding may force the agency to winnow down the contenders sooner than originally planned, which makes the upcoming milestones all the more important.

Boeing, with its CST-100, still aims to demonstrate the seven-person capsule on a three-day manned orbital test flight in 2016, says John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for Commercial Programs. At the recent Space Tech Expo in Long Beach, Calif., he said CST-100 "can be operational as soon as 2016. It is really important for NASA to maintain the 'no-later than 2017' launch date. That's the No. 1 priority and I think NASA, with good reason, wants to maintain competition through the next round. That would be healthy as long as you have the budget to allow that competition in the next round and still fly in 2017."

The company is more than a third of the way through a series of 13 key CCiCAP program performance milestones for 2013 that will lead the way to an integrated critical design review (CDR) in April 2014. In all, the company must pass a total of 19 such milestones by mid-2014. This month the company is set to conduct tests of the Aerojet Rocketdyne orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters, and in September will conduct a CDR of the spacecraft's primary structure. "It's the grind. This is where you get into the final engineering release and all the focus of the team is on the baseline release to support the build cycle. We are making sure we can receive flight design hardware by the end of the calendar year," Mulholland says.

Other milestones for this year include a support module propulsion system critical review in August, and two events in September covering a mission-control-center-interface demonstration and launch vehicle adapter CDR. The CST-100, like the Dream Chaser, is slated to launch initially on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V (AW&ST June 3, p. 54). Last April, Boeing completed wind-tunnel tests of a 7%-scale vehicle and adapter "to make sure we fully understood the loads and that there were no instabilities. It went really well," Mulholland says.

Boeing's plan calls for the first two launches to be on an Atlas, but the company has not ruled out other launchers, including the Falcon 9 developed by CCiCAP rival Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). "It's got to be compatible with others and we continue to have discussions with SpaceX because once the Falcon 9 has enough flights under its belt and is safe enough to fly crew, we feel we can make that business decision. We'll be going over [to SpaceX] soon to see what it will take to make sure our new vehicle is compatible with the Falcon 9. If the price point stays extremely attractive then that is the smart thing to do."
   
Boeing is also scheduled to conduct a launch site preliminary design review at Cape Canaveral, looking at the launch tower design for Space Launch Complex (SLC-41B) "to make sure ULA can go and build it," says Mulholland. In November, Boeing plans to conduct emergency detection-system standalone testing. "It is vitally important to make sure you know when to leave the rocket and that you do not have a false trigger. In December we will release the multi-string flight software," he adds. A pilot-in-the-loop demonstration is set for February 2014, with a software CDR the following month. "We will then move to the validation phase and flight test," he says

SpaceX Commercial Crew project manager Garrett Reisman says his company's plan to conduct a pad abort test in December remains on track, paving the way for a test flight to the space station with a non-NASA crew in a version of the Dragon spacecraft in 2015. "What we think we need to complete launch assurance is just over two years, so we could do a test with people on board around mid-2015. That is what we proposed under CCiCAP and it is the trajectory we are on today but," depending on funding, that may not hold," he warns.

The company delivered a detailed pad abort test plan to NASA in March, and in May completed its human certification plan review with delivery of overall certification and master verification plans. The preliminary design of the automatic-approach-and-docking system as well as the entry, descent and landing system is subject to an on-orbit and entry preliminary design review in July. Following a Dragon parachute test in August, the detailed inflight abort test review is slated for September, with the over-arching safety review covering hazard analysis, safety assessment and failure modes, due in October.

Following a flight review of the upgraded Falcon 9 standard for human missions in mid-November, SpaceX plans to conduct a pad abort test a month later. "The primary structure for the pad abort is already fabricated and almost complete. This the next really exciting milestone and the first abort test as part of commercial crew program. We are going to stick Dragon on top of a Falcon 9 and take it to the transonic regime. We will light up the launch abort system and fly away safely from the Falcon 9. This will demonstrate total thrust (as opposed to total impulse)," adds Reisman. "Then we move on to the human certification review." The qualification effort of the Dragon primary structure is due to be completed in mid-January, with the integrated CDR for the entire vehicle now set for March 2014 and an inflight abort test the following month.

Tap on the icon in the digital edition of AW&ST for a video of the Dream Chaser, and see the video and images of the flight-test vehicle at NASA Dryden alongside one of the agency's original lifting body designs on our OnSpace blog at http://www.ow.ly/mpDfQ

[свернуть]

 

ЦитироватьNASA adds goals for commercial crew participants
   
By Zach Rosenberg Washington DC
  07:08 15 Aug 2013 

NASA (http://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/NASA.html) is adding four milestones for commercial crew integrated capability (CCiCap), worth a total of $55 million.
Sierra Nevada (http://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Sierra%20Nevada.html) Corporation will get two additional milestones to work on its Dream Chaser (http://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Dream%20Chaser.html) lifting body: $5 million for an Incremental Critical Design Review due in October and $10 million for Incremental Reaction Control System Testing, due in July 2014.
The company has recently announced completing ground-based tow tests, the final steps before airborne captive-carry tests leading up to a glide flight. The company expects to complete the glide flight before the end of 2013.
SpaceX (http://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/SpaceX.html) will receive $20 million for Dragon Parachute Testing, due in November. Parachutes are used to slow the Dragon capsule during descent once in the atmosphere.
Boeing (http://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Boeing.html) will receive $20 million for a Spacecraft Safety Review due in July 2014.
CCiCap is due to wrap up in 2014, bringing all three participants up to Critical Design Review (CDR), the final design review before building the vehicle. The contest is meant to be followed shortly by the recently-announced commercial crew transportation capability (CCtCap), which will fund one or two of the participants through construction and several flights.

ЦитироватьАгентство хочет заняться созданием собственных космических кораблей для доставки астронавтов к МКС      
 
                               НАСА собирается с 2017 года отказаться от услуг Роскосмоса по доставке своих астронавтов на российских космических кораблях «Союз». По словам директора НАСА Чарльза Болдена, это связано с тем, что агентство намерено заключить контракты с частными фирмами для создания ракет и космических кораблей нового поколения, которые могли бы доставлять астронавтов к МКС (http://www.bfm.ru/news/230562?doctype=news), передает Daily Press.
Свое участие в программе по созданию космических кораблей, в частности, для полетов к орбитальному комплексу, уже подтвердили две компании SpaceX и Orbital Sciences. Предполагается, что они будут сотрудничать с НАСА по принципу частно-государственного партнерства.
Президент SpaceX Гвен Шотвелл высказала мнение, что такое партнерство позволит США не только вернуться в бизнес по созданию транспортных космических систем безопасным и экономически эффективным способом, но и дать американцам новые рабочие места. Она также призвала американское правительство больше выделять средств из бюджета на финансирование программ НАСА, которое, по ее словам, делает «чрезвычайно важную работу» за 17 млрд долларов в год. Для сравнения, ежегодно американцы тратят на пиво 100 млрд долларов, утверждает Шотвелл.(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/82034.gif)

 Согласно подсчетам экспертов, в последние годы США выплачивали России за одно место на корабле «Союз» примерно по 65 млн долларов.

ЦитироватьCommercial Crew Partners Continue Progress on Milestones
Posted by Doug Messier on February 26, 2014, at 5:22 am in News
   
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/92440.jpg)
   
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA's Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap) partners are relentlessly moving forward in the joint quest to re-establish U.S. human access to space. All the industry teams have been hard at work meeting their planned CCiCap milestones and maturing their crew transportation systems.

Boeing completed a number of crucial developmental and programmatic milestones in preparation for its integrated systems Critical Design Review (CDR) planned for later this year. Milestone 13, the Launch Vehicle Adapter CDR, confirmed that the launch vehicle adapter, which connects the CST-100 spacecraft to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, is suitable for production. The review also included wind tunnel tests verifying flight stability. The launch vehicle Emergency Detection System (EDS) Stand-Alone Testing, Milestone 14, was conducted to better characterize integrated system performance using actual EDS software. The EDS monitors critical launch vehicle parameters, detects critical anomalies and provides abort status to the spacecraft to initiate escape in the event of an emergency.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/92441.jpg)
   
EDWARDS AFB, Calif. – An Erickson Air-Crane helicopter lifts Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser flight vehicle during a captive-carry flight test. The test was a rehearsal for future free flight tests. (Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas)

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) successfully completed milestone 10a, CDR Incremental Design Review #1. This review is the first in a series of reviews that will be conducted by the SNC team as it progresses toward its integrated system CDR. Additionally, SNC held the milestone 4a, Engineering Test Article (ETA) Flight Testing #1, review of aero-data and associated analysis obtained during the first free-flight of the ETA. Additional sensors installed on the vehicle for this flight provided the opportunity to better understand the aerodynamics and controllability of the Dream Chaser outer mold line configuration during the subsonic approach-and-landing phase through touchdown.
   

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/91549.jpg)
   
A Dragon spacecraft splashed down in Morro Bay during a parachute test in December 2013. (Credit: NASA)

SpaceX successfully conducted milestones 15a and 15b, Dragon Parachute Tests, to validate that its new parachute design is capable of conducting a pad abort test, currently planned for this summer. Testing included dropping a full-scale Dragon article into the Pacific Ocean from a helicopter off the coast of Morro Bay, Calif.In addition to continuing progress with CCiCap technical and programmatic milestones, all three industry partners have submitted the second set of Certification Products Contract deliverables. These deliverables include verification and validation plans and variances, alternate standards, and certification plans. The goal of this effort is to better ensure that industry's crew transportation system designs are consistent with NASA's safety and performance requirements.
   

ЦитироватьДмитрий В. пишет:
упс!

ЦитироватьBlue Origin is one of four NASA partners working with the agency's Commercial Crew Program to develop new capabilities to transport people to low-Earth orbit. Ultimately, NASA intends to certify and use commercial systems to fly astronauts from the United States to the International Space Station and back. Click here for a printable version of this poster. (http://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/wp-content/uploads/sites/230/2014/04/CCP_Blue_Origin_508.pdf)

ЦитироватьСМИ: NASA нашло замену российским "Союзам"

Наука (http://itar-tass.com/nauka)
 22 августа, 7:58 UTC+4 
По данным Washington Post, NASA намерено заключить контракт на создание нового "челнока" для доставки астронавтов на МКС



ВАШИНГТОН, 22 августа. /Корр. ИТАР-ТАСС Дмитрий Злодорев/. NASA в ближайшее время может объявить о заключении нового контракта с одной из американских фирм на строительство "челнока" для доставки астронавтов на борт Международной космической станции (МКС). Это делается для того, чтобы избежать зависимости от российских "Союзов", сообщила в четверг вечером на своем интернет-сайте газета Washington Post.



NASA надеется продолжить сотрудничество с Россией по программе МКС (http://itar-tass.com/politika/1184425)




"Как ожидается, в ближайшие недели NASA объявит о долгожданном решении: заключении многомиллиардного контракта на строительство американского космического корабля, который позволит вдохнуть новые силы в испытывающую трудности космическую программу США", - говорится в материале. "Вместо того, чтобы платить по $70 млн за место в "Союзе", данный контракт позволит США впервые за годы отправлять астронавтов в космос с американской территории", - пишет издание.
По данным Washington Post, основных претендентов на заключение контракта трое: "это два относительных "новичка" в космической отрасли - компании SpaceX и  Sierra Nevada, а также "ветеран" - концерн Boeing. "В то время, как SpaceX и Boeing создают капсулы для доставки астронавтов на орбиту, третий претендент - Sierra Nevada - разрабатывает, возможно, наиболее интересное предложение. Это "космический самолет", который выглядит как миниатюрная версия космического шаттла и может использовать для взлетов и приземлений взлетно-посадочные полосы", - говорится в материале.
Подчеркивается, что "изначально запуск первого экипажа в рамках данного проекта намечался к 2015 году", однако "из-за проблем с бюджетом его пришлось перенести на 2017 год". "NASA ожидает, что новый "челнок" будет совершать в среднем два путешествия к МКС в год", - уточняется в статье.
Газета не указывает источников, из которых она почерпнула данную информацию. При этом в материале отмечается, что в программе примет участие фирма Blue Origin, принадлежащая владельцу Washington Post Джеффри Безосу.

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NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden's Blog

MenuSkip to content (http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2014/09/16/american-companies-selected-to-return-astronaut-launches-to-american-soil/#content)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/101319.jpg) (http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/)


American Companies Sel ected to Return Astronaut Launches to American Soil
Posted on September 16, 2014 at 4:09 pm (http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2014/09/16/american-companies-selected-to-return-astronaut-launches-to-american-soil/) by Administrator Charles Bolden (http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/author/boldenblog/).

Today, with the selection of Boeing and SpaceX to be thefirst American companies to launch our astronauts to the International Space Station (http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew), NASA has set the stage for what promises to be the most ambitious and exciting chapter in the history of human space flight.
Fr om day one, the Obama Administration has made it clear that the greatest nation on Earth should not be dependent on other nations to get into space. Thanks to the leadership of President Obama and the hard work of our NASA and industry teams, today we are one step closer to launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on American spacecraft and ending the nation's sole reliance on Russia by 2017. Turning over low-Earth orbit transportation to private industry also will allow NASA to focus on an even more ambitious mission – sending humans to Mars.
We have already fulfilled part of the President's vision. For the past two years, two companies, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, have been making regular cargo deliveries to theInternational Space Station (http://www.nasa.gov/station). The contracts we are announcing today are designed to complete the NASA certification for human space transportation systems capable of carrying people into orbit. Once certification is complete, NASA plans to use these systems to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station and return them safely to Earth. Again, this will fulfill the commitment President Obama made to return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil and end our sole reliance on the Russians.
As a former space shuttle commander, I know that the goal of every mission is to do something different from the flights that have gone before. Alan Shepard earned the title first American in space, John Glenn the first American to orbit Earth. And with all due respect to the late Michael Jackson, Neil and Buzz were the first moonwalkers.
Today, we don't know who is going to get to command the first mission to carry humans into low-Earth orbit on a spacecraft built by an American private company, but we know it will be a seminal moment in NASA history and a major achievement for our nation. We now know, however, who will build it.
The Boeing Company (Boeing) and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) have each presented to us designs that will allow us to fly crews to the International Space Station in just a few years. Respectively, the vehicles are Boeing's CST-100 and SpaceX's Dragon. The total potential contract value is $4.2 billion for Boeing and $2.6 billion for SpaceX. The spacecraft will launch from Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral complex.
Our specialist teams have watched the development of these new spacecraft during earlier development phases, and are confident they will meet the demands of these important missions. We also are confident they will be safe for NASA astronauts – to achieve NASA certification in 2017, they must meet the same rigorous safety standards we had for the Space Shuttle Program.
It was not an easy choice, but it is the best choice for NASA and the nation. We received numerous proposals from companies throughout the aerospace industry. Highly qualified, American companies – united in their desire to return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil – competed to serve this nation and end our reliance on Russia. I applaud them all for their innovations, their hard work and their patriotism.
The partnership with Boeing and SpaceX promises to give more people in America and around the world the opportunity to experience the wonder and exhilaration of spaceflight – to realize the dream of leaving Earth for even a short time to float above our planet Earth in microgravity and to see the stars and the majestic tapestry of the Milky Way unobstructed by the artificial lights and dust of our atmosphere. Space travelers also will be able to imagine and realize new benefits that can be brought back to Earth.
While Boeing and SpaceX handle the task of taking our astronauts to the space station, the scientists on Earth and astronauts on the orbiting ISS National Laboratory will continue the groundbreaking research that has been taking place there for almost 14 years now without interruption. They will be able to add to that portfolio with an expanded crew made possible by the arrival of these new spacecraft.
As research takes place in Earth orbit and the companies refine these new space transportation systems, we at NASA will be working just as diligently readying our new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) (http://www.nasa.gov/sls), and our multi-purpose crew vehicle, Orion (http://www.nasa.gov/orion),for missions in the next decade that will carry people far from our local space neighborhood.
Just yesterday, off the coast of California, I witnessed the successful recovery test of the Orion engineering test article – the next generation spacecraft that is being readied for its December flight test and its eventual use for journeys to an asteroid and to Mars. With the help of the U.S. Navy, the Orion mockup was put through a full ocean recovery dress rehearsal. Following its first flight (EFT-1), Orion will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean – the first time in more than 40 years that it has been necessary to recover a human spacecraft from the ocean.
Last week, at Kennedy Space Center, we rolled theOrion crew module for EFT-1 out of the Neil Armstrong O&C Building to the Hypergolic Processing Facility for fueling in preparation for its maiden test flight in December. Just two days later at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, we cut the ribbon on the new 170 foot high Vertical Assembly Center, the state of the art tooling facility that will weld together the massive core stage of the SLS – the rocket that will launch Orion and our astronauts farther into space than any human has gone before. Fr om Michoud, I traveled to the Stennis Space Center to view progress on the historic B-2 Test Stand that is being prepared to test the core stage of SLS and its configuration of four RS-25 engines.
We will launch SLS andOrion from Kennedy Space Center. They will test the systems needed to get to Mars – with missions to an asteroid and areas beyond the moon such as Lagrange points, wh ere space observatories will be operating within our reach in the 2020s as we conduct the first deep space mission with astronauts since the Apollo moon landings.
We'll conduct missions that will each set their own impressive roster of firsts. First crew to visit and take samples of an asteroid, first crew to fly beyond the orbit of the moon, perhaps the first crew to grow its own food in space — all of which will set us up for humanity's next giant leap: the first crew to touch down and take steps on the surface of Mars.
The partnership we are announcing today for development of our commercial crew vehicles would not be possible without the hard work of hundreds of individuals dedicated to America's spirit of exploration and innovation. I especially want to commend the President and Congress for providing support for this new way of doing business. By combining private sector ingenuity with a bipartisan national commitment, and the unmatched expertise of NASA, we are not only better able to stretch the boundaries of the possible, we are strengthening our economy and creating good jobs for our people. As President Obama has said, "We will not only extend humanity's reach in space — we will strengthen America's leadership here on Earth."
Our destiny is set. Our course is laid out before us. And we are following it. We hope the American people will be inspired to join us on this next great, ambitious leg of humanity's journey farther into our solar system than ever before.

This entry was posted inUncategorized (http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/category/uncategorized/) on September 16, 2014 (http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2014/09/16/american-companies-selected-to-return-astronaut-launches-to-american-soil/) by Administrator Charles  (http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/author/boldenblog/)Bolden

ЦитироватьLanista пишет:
Лаптя жалко...

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
Не понял!
Две компании получают 6.8 миллиардов чтобы совершить "от 2 до 6 полётов 4-местного корабля" !?
2 х 6 полётов х 4 человека = 48
6 800 / 48 = 141.7 миллионов долл на космонавта. И это вместо того, чтобы заплатить 70 миллионов (вдвое меньше) России?

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
Не понял!
Две компании получают 6.8 миллиардов чтобы совершить "от 2 до 6 полётов 4-местного корабля" !?
2 х 6 полётов х 4 человека = 48
6 800 / 48 = 141.7 миллионов долл на космонавта. И это вместо того, чтобы заплатить 70 миллионов (вдвое меньше) России?

ЦитироватьLangolier пишет:

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
Не понял!
Две компании получают 6.8 миллиардов чтобы совершить "от 2 до 6 полётов 4-местного корабля" !?
2 х 6 полётов х 4 человека = 48
6 800 / 48 = 141.7 миллионов долл на космонавта. И это вместо того, чтобы заплатить 70 миллионов (вдвое меньше) России?

Это деньги на разработку кораблей, а не за полеты.

ЦитироватьLangolier пишет:
Это деньги на разработку кораблей, а не за полеты.

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
Не понял!
Две компании получают 6.8 миллиардов чтобы совершить "от 2 до 6 полётов 4-местного корабля" !?
2 х 6 полётов х 4 человека = 48
6 800 / 48 = 141.7 миллионов долл на космонавта. И это вместо того, чтобы заплатить 70 миллионов (вдвое меньше) России?

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
Две компании получают 6.8 миллиардов чтобы совершить "от 2 до 6 полётов 4-местного корабля" !?
2 х 6 полётов х 4 человека = 48
6 800 / 48 = 141.7 миллионов долл на космонавта. И это вместо того, чтобы заплатить 70 миллионов (вдвое меньше) России?

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет: 
Следующие полеты обойдутся дешевле, чем сейчас в указанной сумме разработка + указанные полеты. Ведь не только под это количество полетов разрабатываются корабли. Стоимость покупаемого у России кресла растет как на дрожжах, Может в 2017 году НАСА сможет купить кресло у России минимум за 120 млн долларов.

ЦитироватьBoeing, SpaceX told to stop work under crew contracts
[SIZE=-2]BY STEPHEN CLARK (mailto:sclark@spaceflightnow.com)
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 1, 2014[/SIZE]
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/92725.gif)

TORONTO -- NASA has directed Boeing and SpaceX to halt activities under contracts awarded last month to build commercial space taxis to ferry astronauts to the the International Space Station while the U.S. Government Accountability Office reviews a protest of NASA's contract decision filed by Sierra Nevada Corp.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154390.jpg)
[SIZE=-2]Boeing, Sierra Nevada and SpaceX competed for contracts to build, test and fly commercial human-rated spacecraft to carry astronauts into low Earth orbit.. Credit: NASA[/SIZE]
 
Boeing and SpaceX beat out Sierra Nevada for the contracts, which are worth up to $6.8 billion and cover development, testing and operational flights through 2019 if NASA exercises all options in both deals.
NASA announced the winners of the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability, or CCtCap, contracts Sept. 16, and Sierra Nevada filed a protest to the GAO on Sept. 26, seeking "a further detailed review and evaluation of the submitted proposals and capabilities," the company said in a statement.
The legal challenge stops any work to be executed under the Boeing and SpaceX contracts, according to Stephanie Schierholz, a NASA spokesperson.
"Pursuant to the GAO protest, NASA has instructed Boeing and SpaceX to stop performance of the CCtCap contract," Schierholz said.
Officials did not say if the work stoppage prevents activities using internal funds.
The GAO has until Jan. 5 to recommend a response to Sierra Nevada's challenge, but the congressional watchdog agency could release a ruling within weeks.
According to GAO data, about 42 percent of bid protests submitted to the agency from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2012 were sustained by the GAO or resolved with voluntary action.
If the GAO rules in favor of Sierra Nevada, NASA could change its decision or re-compete the commercial crew contract.
Sierra Nevada said there were "serious questions and inconsistencies in the source selection process" that prompted the contract protest.
"SNC believes the result of further evaluation of the proposals submitted will be that America ends up with a more capable vehicle, at a much lower cost, with a robust and sustainable future," Sierra Nevada said in a press release.
Sierra Nevada's bid to complete development of its Dream Chaser lifting body -- designed to take off on top of a rocket and return to a runway landing -- asked for $900 million less than Boeing, the company said.
The Dream Chaser proposal was deemed "near equivalent" to Boeing and SpaceX's bids in scoring on technical merit and past performance, according to Sierra Nevada.
NASA has not released information on the reasons for choosing Boeing and SpaceX over Sierra Nevada, which touts the Dream Chaser's ability to return to a softer landing than its competitors, along with other mission options such as satellite servicing, cargo delivery, and orbital debris removal.
Before the protest, Boeing was poised to carry on work on its CST-100 crew capsule under a $4.2 billion contract, and SpaceX won a $2.6 billion deal to develop a human-rated version of its Dragon spacecraft.
NASA officials have said both companies are on track to begin operational crew launches by the end of 2017, ending U.S. reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to carry astronauts between Earth and the space station.
But NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, speaking to reporters at the 65th International Astronautical Congress here, declined to answer any questions on the commercial crew program, citing legal sensitivities after Sierra Nevada's challenge to the GAO.
Bill Gerstenmaier, head of the space agency's human spaceflight programs, also deferred questions on the protest's impact to Boeing and SpaceX's schedules.
Boeing has completed work on a preceding agreement with NASA that led into the CCtCap phase of the commercial crew program.
SpaceX is putting its Dragon crew capsule through structural qualification testing, then engineers will gear up for a Dragon abort test before finishing milestones under the company's previous cost-sharing agreement with NASA.
Those milestones are not affected by Sierra Nevada's protest, but any work to kick off tasks identified in the new contract could be delayed, officials said.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1 (http://www.twitter.com/stephenclark1/).

ЦитироватьNASA clears commercial crew contractors to resume work
[SIZE=-2]BY STEPHEN CLARK (mailto:sclark@spaceflightnow.com)
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 9, 2014[/SIZE]
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/92725.gif)
//[JUSTIFY][/JUSTIFY]////23 (http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1410/09cctcap/#)




Boeing Co. and SpaceX, sel ected by NASA last month to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, can resume development of their human-rated spacecraft after officials ordered a work stoppage prompted by a protest by Sierra Nevada Corp., the company left out of the contracts, NASA said Thursday.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154393.jpg)
[SIZE=-2]Artist's concept of the CST-100 crew capsule approaching the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Boeing[/SIZE]
 
NASA directed Boeing and SpaceX to halt work under the new Commercial Crew Transportation Capability, or CCtCap, contracts after Sierra Nevada sought a review of the space agency's contract decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Government agencies often hold up work under new contracts when protests are filed to the GAO.
In a posting on its website Thursday, NASA said it has decided to proceed with the Boeing and SpaceX contracts despite Sierra Nevada's challenge.
"The agency recognizes that failure to provide the CCtCap transportation service as soon as possible poses risks to the International Space Station (ISS) crew, jeopardizes continued operation of the ISS, would delay meeting critical crew size requirements, and may result in the U.S. failing to perform the commitments it made in its international agreements," NASA said in the Internet post.
The GAO has not weighed in on Sierra Nevada's protest. The congressional watchdog agency has until Jan. 5 to issue a recommendation.
If the GAO rules in favor of Sierra Nevada, NASA could change its decision or re-compete the commercial crew contract. NASA is not explicitly required to follow GAO recommendations, but the watchdog reports to Congress when agencies do not comply with GAO rulings.
Sierra Nevada said there were "serious questions and inconsistencies in the source selection process" that prompted the contract protest. The company said its proposal was less costly to NASA than Boeing's and was deemed "near equivalent" to Boeing and SpaceX's bids in technical merit and past performance metrics.
But NASA's announcement Thursday means Boeing and SpaceX are cleared to continue work under the CCtCap contracts, aiming to produce a certified spacecraft and launch vehicle for astronaut crews by the end of 2017.
"These considerations compelled NASA to use its statutory authority to avoid significant adverse consequences where contract performance remained suspended," NASA said. "NASA has determined that it best serves the United States to continue performance of the CCtCap contracts that will enable safe and reliable travel to and from the ISS from the United States on American spacecraft and end the nation's sole reliance on Russia for such transportation."
The space agency announced Sept. 16 it chose Boeing and SpaceX to build, test and fly commercial crew spacecraft to end U.S. reliance on Russian Soyuz spaceships for transportation of astronauts to the space station by the end of 2017.
Sierra Nevada also bid for a contract, but NASA passed over the company's Dream Chaser lifting body concept in favor of Boeing and SpaceX capsules designed to land under parachutes with the help of air bags and braking rockets.
Sierra Nevada said Sept. 26 it filed a protest with the GAO, seeking "a further detailed review and evaluation of the submitted proposals and capabilities," the company said in a statement.
The Dream Chaser proposal, which would take off on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket and land on a runway, would cost some $900 million less than Boeing's CST-100 contract, Sierra Nevada said.
Boeing is set to receive up to $4.2 billion in its CCtCap contract. SpaceX's deal is worth a maximum of $2.6 billion.
Both contracts cover development, test flights and up to six operational missions to ferry NASA and partner astronauts between Earth and the International Space Station. NASA guaranteed each company at least two fully-fledged for-profit flights.
Boeing's CST-100 crew capsule -- like Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser -- is designed to take off aboard Atlas 5 rockets.
SpaceX is working on a highly-modified second-generation Dragon capsule fitted with myriad upgrades and changes -- including new rocket thrusters, computers, a different outer mold line, and redesigned solar arrays -- fr om the company's Dragon cargo delivery vehicle already flying to the space station.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1 (http://www.twitter.com/stephenclark1/).

ЦитироватьSFN пишет:
Ничего не понял из заграничной речи. Выбрали CST-100?

ЦитироватьSTORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" (http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/home/spacenews/spacenews1.html) & USED WITH PERMISSION
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154516.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154516.jpg)
File photo of the International Space Station as seen by a space shuttle crew in 2010. Credit: NASA


NASA expects to spend some $5 billion underwriting development of commercial spacecraft built by Boeing and SpaceX to carry astronauts to and fr om the International Space Station, officials said Monday, ending sole reliance on the Russians for crew ferry flights and eventually lowering the average cost per seat to around $58 million.
Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, said her company's upgraded Dragon V2 ferry craft should be ready for an initial unpiloted flight to the space station in late 2016 with the first crewed flight, likely carrying a SpaceX test pilot and a NASA astronaut, in early 2017.
John Elbon, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space Exploration, said his company's CST-100 spacecraft is expected to be ready for an uncrewed test flight in April 2017, followed by a crewed flight, with a Boeing pilot and a NASA astronaut, in the July 2017 timeframe.
Both companies must complete the crewed and uncrewed test flights before NASA certification, which will pave the way for the start of operational crew rotation and cargo delivery flights to the International Space Station later in 2017. Until then, NASA will continue to rely on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to carry U.S. and partner crew members to and from the lab complex.
"Commercial crew is incredibly important to the space station, it's important to reduce the cost of transportation to low-Earth orbit so that NASA has within its budget the capability to develop means to explore beyond low-Earth orbit," Elbon said during a news conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "And importantly, I think, it's beginning a whole new industry. ... We're making great progress on the program."
Said Shotwell: "Our crew Dragon leverages the cargo capability that we've been flying successfully to the International Space Station. However, we understand, and we've been told, that crew is clearly different. So there are a number of upgrades that we've been working for the past few years to assure that this crew version of Dragon is as reliable as it can possibly be. Ultimately, we plan for it to be the most reliable spaceship flying crew ever."
In the wake of the space shuttle's retirement, NASA started a competition to build a commercial crewed spacecraft, with the first in a series of contracts intended to encourage innovative designs for reliable, affordable transportation to and from low-Earth orbit.
Last September, NASA announced that Boeing had won a $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCAP) contract to continue development of the company's CST-100 capsule while SpaceX would receive $2.6 billion to press ahead with work to perfect its futuristic Dragon crew craft.
A third competitor, Sierra Nevada, was left out, and the company filed a protest with the General Accountability Office, arguing its Dream Chaser spaceplane was unfairly passed over. But the GAO ruled earlier this month that NASA's selection of Boeing and SpaceX was justified, clearing the space agency to proceed with the CCtCAP contracts.
SpaceX and Boeing hold contracts covering two test flights and two operational missions per company with options for additional operational missions between them.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154472.png) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154472.png)
Artist's concept of Boeing's CST-100 crew capsule separating from the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas 5 launcher. Credit: Boeing


Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft is a state-of-the-art, reusable capsule incorporating weld-less fabrication, flight proven navigation software, powerful "pusher" escape rockets to propel the capsule away from a malfunctioning booster and a parachute-and-airbag landing system.
For NASA flights, the spacecraft will be used to carry four astronauts at a time to the space station, along with critical cargo. It will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, one of the most reliable boosters in the U.S. inventory.
Elbon said construction has started on a launch pad crew access tower and work platforms needed to service CST-100s in a former shuttle processing hangar. A simulator will be installed at the Johnson Space Center in the same building that once housed shuttle flight simulators and Boeing is working out procedures to use NASA's mission control center for ascent, rendezvous and re-entry.
"The flight software will be delivered later this summer, we'll have the simulator running with the flight software and flight computers and 26 of the 34 flight displays," Elbon said. "So there will be a real opportunity for the crew to interface with that software and understand how the vehicle's going to operate."
Boeing plans a launch pad abort test in February 2017 "where we'll fully check out the abort system" before staging the first unpiloted test flight to the space station the following April. Elbon said Boeing should be ready for the first crewed test flight in July 2017. Assuming the test flights go well and NASA certifies the CST-100, Boeing expects to be ready for its first operational mission in December 2017.
SpaceX already flies to the space station under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA for a dozen uncrewed cargo flights using the company's Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rockets.
The crewed version of the spacecraft will be able to carry up to seven astronauts — typically four for station missions — and features futuristic pull-down flat-screen displays, a powerful escape rocket system and sophisticated computer control. As with the automated cargo ships, the crew capsules will be launched atop Falcon 9 boosters.
Shotwell said SpaceX is gearing up for a pad abort test in the next month or so when a Dragon spacecraft will be shot off the launch pad using its escape rockets to demonstrate the ability to pull a crew away from a catastrophic low-altitude booster malfunction. A second abort test will be carried out later this year to demonstrate escape during the most aerodynamically stressful regions of powered flight.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154473.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154473.jpg)
Artist's concept of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX


"The Integrated launch abort system is critically important to us, we think it gives incredible safety features for a full abort all the way through ascent," Shotwell said. SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk hopes to eventually use the abort system for rocket-powered landings at the end of a mission, but initial flights will splash down in the ocean much like Dragon cargo missions.
While SpaceX is a relative newcomer to the rocket industry, Shotwell said the company will have launched more than 50 Falcon 9 rockets by the time astronauts strap into a Dragon V2 for the first piloted test flight. She said SpaceX will install a simulator at the Johnson Space Center for crew training, but likely will monitor ascent, rendezvous and re-entry from the company's Hawthorne, Calif., rocket plant wh ere Dragon supply flights are managed.
"We anticipate doing our uncrewed mission to the International Space Station on this upgraded crew vehicle later in '16, shortly followed thereafter with our crewed flight in early 2017, as shortly as we can make it and still maintain reliability and safety," she said. "We certainly understand the incredible responsibility we've been given to build the systems necessary and capable of flying crew."
Along with ferrying astronauts to and from the space station, the Boeing and SpaceX capsules also will be able to serve as lifeboats for station crew members, remaining attached to the station for more than 200 days at a stretch to give U.S. and partner astronauts a way home in an emergency.
The new spacecraft will be the first American vehicles to carry astronauts on NASA-sanctioned flights since the space shuttle's last mission in 2011 and the first built under more commercially structured contracts intended to lower costs.
The CST-100 and upgraded Dragon also will end America's reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for access to the International Space Station. Under NASA's latest contract with Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency, U.S. seats cost around $70 million each. Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said the agency eventually will save, on average, more than $10 million a seat using U.S. spacecraft.
"Overall, when we go through the whole development activity ... we'll have invested about $5 billion," she said. "In addition, when you look at pricing for the missions across the five years we have pricing for, we're able to get an average seat cost of about $58 million per seat."
But NASA's use of Soyuz spacecraft will not end with the advent of U.S. space taxis.
Mike Suffredini, manager of the space station program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a Jan. 15 interview with CBS News that NASA still plans to use one seat per Soyuz for the duration of the station program. The Russians, likewise, will be able to launch a cosmonaut on each U.S.-sponsored flight.
Assuming both parties ultimately agree, "the Russians will fly twice a year, or whatever rate they need to do their job, and we will have a crew member on each of their flights," Suffredini said. "We will fly ours at whatever rate we think we need to do our job and they will put a single crew member on it."
During the news conference Monday, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said "I don't ever want to have to write another check to (the Russian federal space agency) Roscosmos after 2017, hopefully. That's why I'm looking to John and Gwynne to deliver. You've heard both of them say they think they'll be flying by 2017. If we can make that date, I'm a happy camper."
But NASA has to be prepared for contingencies and the commercial crew schedule is optimistic. Space station planners do not yet know for sure when a commercial ferry craft will begin operational missions and orders for Soyuz seats must be placed three years in advance.
"So I'm about to tell (Roscosmos) whether I want seats in 2018 right now, and we don't have any more insights (into commercial crew progress) really than the proposals," Suffredini said. "So we've got to go get some seats."
Longer term, he said NASA plans to continue flying on Soyuz after Boeing and SpaceX begin operational missions, but under a barter arrangement of some sort.
"We're assuming two Russian seats a year and we're assuming two Russians will fly in our seats per year," Suffredini said. "And it'll just be a quid pro quo, we won't ask for compensation."

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
Если МКС утопят в 2021

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:
А кто кроме нас собирается топить МКС в 2021м?

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
Чтобы доставить 8 (в год) * 7 (лет) = 56 коммерческих астронавтов с экономией 12 лямов "за билет", надо проинвестировать 5 ярдов. По ~90 лямов на билет проинвестировать, чтобы 12 сэкономить.

Если МКС утопят в 2021, то вообще "красота". Надо проинвестировать 208 лямов на билет, чтобы 12 сэкономить.

И избиратель верит, что экономия. Ну 12 лямов же.

Плохо арифиметику преподают в public schools. Нда.

ЦитироватьАнтон пишет:
не забывайте

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:
А кто кроме нас собирается топить МКС в 2021м?

Все, кроме США.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:

ЦитироватьАнтон пишет:
не забывайте

Это как раз можно и нужно приветствовать. Но "экономия" - обыкновенный обман.

ЦитироватьAstro Cat пишет:
Сколько они кораблей лепят параллельно!

1. Драгон
2. Орион
3. SCT-100
4. Dream Chaser


Последний мне наиболее симпатичен.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
Чтобы доставить 8 (в год) * 7 (лет) = 56 коммерческих астронавтов с экономией 12 лямов "за билет", надо проинвестировать 5 ярдов. По ~90 лямов на билет проинвестировать, чтобы 12 сэкономить.
И избиратель верит, что экономия. ....

Цитировать
pnetmon пишет:
кто все?

Цитироватьronatu пишет:
Экономия тут не при чем. Это политика и отсутсвие батута.
Можно конечно полагаться на помощь (сотрудничество) других стран, но только на помощь дружественных стран.
Современная, Путинская Россия к ним никаким боком.

ЦитироватьAstro Cat пишет:
Сколько они кораблей лепят параллельно!

1. Драгон
2. Орион
3. SCT-100
4. Dream Chaser


Последний мне наиболее симпатичен.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
Последний-то и отменили.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:

ЦитироватьAstro Cat пишет:
Сколько они кораблей лепят параллельно!
1. Драгон
2. Орион
3. SCT-100
4. Dream Chaser

Последний мне наиболее симпатичен.

Последний-то и отменили. Ориона к МКС тоже на данный момент не планируют.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:

Цитироватьronatu пишет:
Экономия тут не при чем. Это политика и отсутсвие батута.
Можно конечно полагаться на помощь (сотрудничество) других стран, но только на помощь дружественных стран.
Современная, Путинская Россия к ним никаким боком.

Коммерческие пилотируемые планы изначально были оформлены в виде COTS-D в ЕМНИП 2006. Они никак не относятся к современной политической ситуации.

Общая причина, понятно, "США подобает летать на МКС на своём корабле". И не подобает летать на чужом. Что абсолютно правильно, даже странно обсуждать.

Но беда в том, что СМИ продолжают петь про "экономию от частников". Сие есть обман и не подобает.

Цитироватьronatu пишет:
Они правильно отмечают, что стимость доставки астронавта уменьшится

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
PS: Собственно, почему я недоволен. Если в результате неких политических изменений тут "у избирателя вдруг откроются глаза", что никакой экономии нет, а был обман, не закроют ли лавочку. Лучше говорить правду. Вся эта "ложь во благо" до добра не доведёт.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
кто все?

Строго говоря, вообще все. Нет ни одного обязывающего документа (закона, договора), согласно которому после 2020 на МКС будет выделен хоть один цент.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
Выбраны Боинг и СпейсИкс. Они поделили грядущие 4.2 ярда. ДримЧейсер пролетел.

Кто и когда дал им 20 лямов, Вы не путаете?

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
Какая страна заявила что она не будет участвовать и выходит из проекта в 2020 году, из крупных: Россия, ЕКА и страны входящие в ЕКА, Япония....?ну желание США озвучили

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum14/topic9573/?PAGEN_1=19

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:
Плюс, не забывайте, что обмен будет продолжаться, и несколько раз после 2018 астронавты слетают на Союзах, а космонавты - на CTS-100 и Драконах.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет: 

Стоимость доставки астронавтов уменьшится, если доставить их более ~420 штук. Тогда "экономия" превысит вложенные 5 ярдов.

Есть ли хотя бы теоретические планы заказать доставку, скажем, 500 "коммерческих астронавтов" на МКС?

ЦитироватьGrus пишет:
МКС продлили до 2025.

ЦитироватьKR пишет:
наши на земляном червяке не полетят!

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:

ЦитироватьKR пишет:
наши на земляном червяке не полетят!

Пешком обратно пойдут?

ЦитироватьKR пишет:
Только отечественное, а не поганый червяк варварских инородцев!

Цитироватьtestest пишет:

ЦитироватьKR пишет:
Только отечественное, а не поганый червяк варварских инородцев!

Сарказм?  :)

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
Какая страна заявила что она не будет участвовать и выходит из проекта в 2020 году, из крупных: Россия, ЕКА и страны входящие в ЕКА, Япония....?ну желание США озвучили

ЕКА очень скептически высказывались насчёт после 2020.

Кстати, никакого "желания США" озвучено не было. Желание администрация нынешнего Президента США и НАСА - не есть желание США, тут не надо путать.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:
А кто кроме нас собирается топить МКС в 2021м?

Все, кроме США.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
кто принимает решение о продлении

Цитироватькто-то уже официально ответил о неучастии в продлении

ЦитироватьЭксплуатирующая организация за продление

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
Сарказм?  :)

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
Обманывать нехорошо. "В гугле".

ЦитироватьВ сентябре 2014 года NASA заключило контракт на строительство корабля, который откроет новую эру пилотируемых полётов в космос с территории США. Договор был заключён сразу с двумя компаниями — SpaceX и Boeing.
Члены Консультативной группы по вопросам безопасности полётов воздушно-космических аппаратов (Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel) подчеркнули, что из-за того, что NASA не идёт на контакт и не представляет необходимой информации, они не смогли «составить авторитетное мнение по адекватности процесса соблюдения необходимых мер безопасности» полётов аппаратов SpaceX и Boeing на МКС. Об этом сообщает The Washington Post.
По словам экспертов, невозможность наладить открытую и прозрачную связь с NASA по этим вопросам напоминает ситуацию вокруг трагедий с космическими шаттлами Челленджер и Колумбия.
Для многих тот факт, что американское аэрокосмическое агентство приняло решение нанять подрядчиков для организации полётов в космос, стал поводом для споров и дискуссий. NASA обвиняли и в предвзятости, и в неразумном распределении средств. Контракт для компании Boeing будет стоить $4.2 млрд, для SpaceX, стартапа от уже ставшего легендой предпринимателя Элона Маска, агентство выделило $2.6 млрд.
Кроме того, проигравший конкурент двух компаний, корпорация Sierra Nevada из штата Колорадо, выразил официальный протест против решения NASA.
Глава агентства Чарльз Болден заявил, что безопасность является основным приоритетом его ведомства. Он и его руководящие коллеги начали говорить о проекте более открыто лишь с тех пор, как правительство официально отклонило протест Sierra Nevada.
Независимая комиссия уже не в первый раз заявляет о недостаточной безопасности коммерческих полётов. В 2010 году, перед отказом правительства США от программы «Созвездие», которая разрабатывалась в стране с 2004 года, в отчёте группы экспертов утверждалось, что коммерческие компании не имеют опыта организации пилотируемых космических полётов и не удовлетворяют требованиям, предъявляемым к безопасности пилотируемых космических кораблей.

ЦитироватьАнтон пишет:

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
 http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum14/topic9573/?PAGEN_1=19

DC видимо из старых планов. Да и Дракон с 40 площадки - это странно, хотя Маск их с 39-й пусках собирался

ЦитироватьАлександр Ч. пишет:
"По словам экспертов, невозможность наладить открытую и прозрачную связь с NASA по этим вопросам напоминает ситуацию вокруг трагедий с космическими шаттлами Челленджер и Колумбия."

ЦитироватьАлександр Ч. пишет: Перепутал человек продление МКС до 2025 с российской ФКП на период с 2016 по 2025. Это типично для тех кто "не в теме" и о состоянии дел судит по заголовкам в газетах ;-) 

ЦитироватьGrus пишет:
в США утверждена программа до 2024.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет: Обманывать нехорошо.

ЦитироватьGrus пишет:
The announcement by the Obama Administration to support the

ЦитироватьGrus пишет:
Вы можете объяснять только то, что понимаете.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
По ссылке ясно написано - надежность разрабатываемых сейчас аппаратов к 2018 году не будет хорошо доказана, количество совершенных полетов будет мало - страхуются, в том числе от сдвигов вправо.
Мне казалось это было понятно, что при запуске своих пилотируемых кораблей они не сразу откажутся от резервного плана на кораблях России.

Полмиллиарда или чуть больше заплатят.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
а где вначале нашли документ или тему по нему?

ЦитироватьGrus пишет:
В гугле "МКС 2025" - наслаждайтесь новым знанием.

ЦитироватьТАСС: Наука - Рогозин: на развитие МКС до 2025 года ... (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fitar-tass.com%2Fnauka%2F1461835&ei=dAzVVJH8OcOcNuDzgtAF&usg=AFQjCNGnxmtWRFFV3KfiI2duVVHNTuE7TQ&bvm=bv.85464276,d.eXY)

itar-tass.com/.../146183...

Russian News Agency "TASS"

Sep 23, 2014 - ЗВЕЗДНЫЙ ГОРОДОК, 23 сентября. /ИТАР-ТАСС/. На развитие МКС до 2025 года планируется выделить 321 млрд руб. Об этом ...

ЦитироватьOIG Report on Extending ISS Operations Until 2024 - NASA ... (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCYQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnasawatch.com%2Farchives%2F2014%2F09%2Foig-report-on-e.html&ei=hA3VVNqMM4SLgwS4g4PgCw&usg=AFQjCNEEN7d3k9YHTOzlm4QDRH9LgBJNrA&bvm=bv.85464276,d.eXY)

nasawatch.com/archives/2014/09/oig-report-on-e.html

Sep 18, 2014 - Extending the Operational Life of the International Space Station Until 2024, NASA OIG. "Specifically, the ISS faces a risk of insufficient power ...

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
а где вначале нашли документ или тему по нему?

Сорри, не понял вопроса. Лично я вначале увидел это в твиттере Джеймса Дина, репортера из Флорида Тудей.

 https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/563719372657926144

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
а где вначале нашли документ или тему по нему?

Сорри, не понял вопроса. Лично я вначале увидел это в твиттере Джеймса Дина, репортера из Флорида Тудей.

 https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/563719372657926144

Правильно поняли, хотел узнать откуда узнали вы. Спасибо

у кого-то будет праздник: янки снова платят за место....

интересно будет с российской стороны выступление некоторых деятелей с нежеланием заключать контракт на доставку или очень большое повышение цены... что может привести к увеличению выделяемых денег на американские коммерческие корабли в принимаемом бюджете на 16 год, а потом на 17...

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:
Просто для "страховки" как-то дороговато, если только не договорятся, что Роскосмос взамен шестерых космонавтов на Драконе/СТС потом отправит.

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:
Дрим Чейсер пришлось зарубить, только чтоб к 18 году успеть

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
Да бросьте, с самого начала было известно, что контракт получат только две компании.

Цитировать http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/28/nasa-expects-continued-use-of-soyuz-in-era-of-commercial-spaceships/
At the Monday news briefing, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made it clear he does not want to buy seats from the Russians if he doesn't have to.

"I don't ever want to have to write another check to Roscosmos after 2017, hopefully," he said.

But NASA's current contract for Soyuz seats does not cover 2018 and Suffredini said in a Jan. 15 interview that seats aboard the Russian spacecraft must be reserved three years in advance. Given uncertainty in the commercial crew schedule, NASA may be forced to buy more seats despite Bolden's vow to stop writing checks.

Right now, our big challenge is with the uncertainty in the schedule, how do you make sure you're ready for whatever's going to happen?" Suffredini said. "And then in all that mix is making sure we have enough seats purchased from our Russian colleagues in time. So I have to tell them, which is reasonable, three years in advance whether I want seats."

ЦитироватьBut NASA's current contract for Soyuz seats does not cover 2018 and Suffredini said in a Jan. 15 interview that seats aboard the Russian spacecraft must be reserved three years in advance.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
а сколько в год должны летать эти корабли, сколько астронавтов в год должно посетить станцию.... не в количестве астронавтов конечно дело.
в графике запусков http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum14/topic9573/message1335974/#message1335974 опубликованы только транспортники

ЦитироватьSFN пишет:

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
а сколько в год должны летать эти корабли, сколько астронавтов в год должно посетить станцию.... не в количестве астронавтов конечно дело.
в графике запусков http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum14/topic9573/message1335974/#message1335974 опубликованы только транспортники

эти корабли два раза в год по 4 человека (3 астронавта и 1 космонавт). Экипаж МКС по т.н. соглашению Черномырдина-Гора составляет 3 чела на РС МКС и 4 чела на американском сегменте.

ЦитироватьSFN пишет:

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
а сколько в год должны летать эти корабли, сколько астронавтов в год должно посетить станцию.... не в количестве астронавтов конечно дело.
в графике запусков http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum14/topic9573/message1335974/#message1335974 опубликованы только транспортники

эти корабли два раза в год по 4 человека (3 астронавта и 1 космонавт). Экипаж МКС по т.н. соглашению Черномырдина-Гора составляет 3 чела на РС МКС и 4 чела на американском сегменте.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
а сколько в год должны летать эти корабли, сколько астронавтов в год должно посетить станцию.... не в количестве астронавтов конечно дело.

ЦитироватьThe contracts include at least one crewed flight test per company with at least one NASA astronaut aboard to verify the fully integrated rocket and spacecraft system can launch, maneuver in orbit, and dock to the space station, as well as validate all its systems perform as expected. Once each company's test program has been completed successfully and its system achieves NASA certification, each contractor will conduct at least two, and as many as six, crewed missions to the space station. These spacecraft also will serve as a lifeboat for astronauts aboard the station.

ЦитироватьThe contracts also include at least two and as many as six operational flights per company to the ISS, each carrying four astronauts, once NASA certifies each company's vehicle. Each flight will also be able to transport 100 kilograms of cargo to and from the station.

ЦитироватьCommercial Crew Companies Continue To Compete after Contracts
by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — March 6, 2015
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155333.jpg)
Garrett Reisman, director of crew operations for SpaceX, and John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of commercial programs at Boeing Space Exploration, politely sparred with one another at a Feb. 27 House Science space subcommittee hearing. Credit: SpaceX/Boeing/SpaceNews  
 
WASHINGTON — Nearly six months after winning high-profile NASA contracts, the two companies developing commercial crew transportation systems are still in some sense competing with each other, playing up their strengths and highlighting the other's perceived weaknesses.
At a U.S. House Science space subcommittee hearing on NASA's commercial crew program Feb. 27, representatives of Boeing and SpaceX politely sparred with each other about which company was in the best position to meet NASA's goal of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station by the end of 2017.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155378.jpg) (http://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Atlas5RD180_NASA.jpg)
ULA Atlas 5 rocket. Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

Much of that debate focused on the companies' choices of launch vehicles for their crewed spacecraft: Boeing's use of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 versus SpaceX's Falcon 9.
"The Falcon 9 is, in our opinion, the best way for the U.S. to wean itself off its Russian dependency," said Garrett Reisman, director of crew operations for SpaceX, noting that unlike the Atlas 5 and its Russian-built main engine, the Falcon 9 is "100 percent American-made."
Reisman argued that the Falcon 9, which performed its 16th launch March 1, is catching up in experience to the veteran Atlas 5, which has flown 52 times to date. "By the time in 2017 when we strap somebody in, we'll be well over 50 missions," he said.
John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of commercial programs at Boeing Space Exploration of Houston, responded with some skepticism about that flight rate. "As Dr. Reisman mentions, they expect to be over 50 missions by the time the [commercial crew] launch services are provided," he said, "which would be a significant increase in their schedule reliability to be able to achieve that number of missions."
Mulholland also pointed out Falcon 9 had gone through "different design changes," including the introduction of the Falcon 9 v1.1 in 2013 and plans to increase the thrust of the Falcon 9's first-stage engines starting later this year. "So it will be interesting to see the stability and scale as they perform" that increased number of launches, he said.
The different values of the contracts also became a topic for debate at the hearing. Boeing's contract is worth $4.2 billion, compared with SpaceX's $2.6 billion, assuming all options for later operational flights are exercised. One subcommittee member, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), asked about that apparent disparity.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155369.jpg) (http://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Falcon9AsiaSat6_SpaceX.jpg)
SpaceX Falcon 9. Credit: SpaceX

"There is a difference in approach," Mulholland responded. "I think the only objective evidence is the NASA evaluation from the source selection board." That board's report, he said, contained "many instances of statements about the increasing confidence that NASA has in the Boeing plan because of the detailed understanding of the certification requirements."
He compared that with SpaceX, which he said "did not demonstrate as good an understanding of the certification products or have effective systems for the development of these key products."
Reisman countered that the technical difference between the two companies' proposals was not that large. "If you look in detail at the source selection official's statement, it was neck-and-neck when it came to technical and mission suitability," he said. "There was a 7 percent difference in the scores that were awarded, but there was a 70 percent difference in price."
In data released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in January, SpaceX received 457 of 525 points in the technical evaluation of its commercial crew proposal, while Boeing received 488 points, or about 7 percent higher than SpaceX. Boeing's proposal price, excluding the flight services included in the NASA contract value, was $3.01 billion, about 70 percent higher than the $1.75 billion price offered by SpaceX.
Reisman said the price difference was caused in large part by difference in maturity between SpaceX's Dragon v2 vehicle and Boeing's CST-100. "We're so much ahead in terms of development of the vehicle," he said, citing SpaceX's experience with the cargo version of Dragon currently in service. "We had a lot of runway behind us, and at the same time we're also very efficient."
While Mulholland and Reisman debated their relative strengths and weaknesses, the two left room for potential future collaboration. Mulholland noted that Boeing has had discussions in the past with SpaceX about the technical compatibility of the CST-100 with the Falcon 9 as a backup to the Atlas 5. "We were not given a bid for the Falcon 9 in this previous phase of the proposal, but we've had discussions with SpaceX," he said.
"We have had some discussion" about using Falcon 9 for the CST-100, Reisman agreed, but added that any decisions about bidding were "above my pay grade."
"I don't get a commission, so I can't sell you one of those today," Reisman told Mulholland.

ЦитироватьRuScience ‏@riascience  (https://twitter.com/riascience) 37 мин.37 минут назад (https://twitter.com/riascience/status/601296422563000320)

Нижняя палата Конгресса вчера урезала частные пилотируемые полеты в новом бюджете @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA). «Придется дальше полагаться на Россию» (глава НАСА)

Цитировать http://www.vox.com/2015/5/20/8631225/nasa-budget-house
House Republicans want NASA to focus on studying other planets, not Earth
On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a 2016 spending bill that could play a big role in shaping NASA's activities for the next several years.
....
The Senate still has to pass its own version of the bill, and that version could differ substantially.
....
When it comes to NASA's human spaceflight programs — which ultimately eat up more of the agency's budget than science — the bill allocated about $200 million more than Obama's proposal.
The biggest bump is the extra $493 million the bill would devote to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a gigantic rocket currently in development that the agency wants to eventually use (http://www.vox.com/2015/2/4/7977685/mars-nasa-orion-sls) for a human mission to Mars (http://www.vox.com/cards/mars-exploration/what-are-our-long-term-plans-for-exploring-mars). There've been some doubts that NASA would be able to complete SLS given current levels of funding, so this is good news for the program. Funding for the Orion capsule (http://www.vox.com/2014/12/3/7322909/orion-test-flight), which would be paired with SLS as part of a Mars mission, is the same as in Obama's request.
On the other hand, the bill dictates a $244 million cut to NASA's Commercial Crew Program — a partnership between NASA and private companies (http://www.vox.com/cards/private-space-flight/nasa-private-spaceflight-spacex-boeing) that will see SpaceX (http://www.vox.com/cards/private-space-flight/spacex-dragon)and Boeing (http://www.vox.com/cards/private-space-flight/boeing-spaceflight-cst-100) begin to ferry astronauts up to the Space Station and back starting in 2017.
This program was intended to allow NASA to delegate the relatively routine transport to and from low Earth orbit to private companies, in order to focus on a more ambitious mission to Mars. But NASA has previously said (http://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2015/0519-the-house-proposes-big-increases-to-planetary-sls-cuts-to-earth-science-and-commercial-crew.html) that cuts to this program will force it to renegotiate existing contracts with SpaceX and Boeing, and could mean substantial delays.
....

Цитировать http://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2015/0519-the-house-proposes-big-increases-to-planetary-sls-cuts-to-earth-science-and-commercial-crew.html
...
Commercial Crew funded below NASA's request
The $1 billion for Commercial Crew provided in this bill would be the most Congress has ever approved for this program, but it is $246 million below what the White House and NASA requested for 2016. NASA has stated several times that providing anything less than their requested amount would delay the program and require them to renegotiate their contracts with SpaceX and Boeing.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:

ЦитироватьНижняя палата Конгресса вчера урезала частные пилотируемые полеты в новом бюджете @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA) .

это как частные пилотируемые полеты в бюджете НАСА ?

Цитироватьhttp://www.vox.com/2015/5/20/8631225/nasa-budget-house
House Republicans want NASA to focus on studying other planets, not Earth
.....
When it comes to NASA's human spaceflight programs — which ultimately eat up more of the agency's budget than science — the bill allocated about $200 million more than Obama's proposal.
The biggest bump is the extra $493 million the bill would devote to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a gigantic rocket currently in development that the agency wants to eventually use (http://www.vox.com/2015/2/4/7977685/mars-nasa-orion-sls) for a human mission to Mars (http://www.vox.com/cards/mars-exploration/what-are-our-long-term-plans-for-exploring-mars) . There've been some doubts that NASA would be able to complete SLS given current levels of funding, so this is good news for the program. Funding for the Orion capsule (http://www.vox.com/2014/12/3/7322909/orion-test-flight) , which would be paired with SLS as part of a Mars mission, is the same as in Obama's request.
On the other hand, the bill dictates a $244 million cut to NASA's Commercial Crew Program — a partnership between NASA and private companies (http://www.vox.com/cards/private-space-flight/nasa-private-spaceflight-spacex-boeing) that will see SpaceX (http://www.vox.com/cards/private-space-flight/spacex-dragon) and Boeing (http://www.vox.com/cards/private-space-flight/boeing-spaceflight-cst-100) begin to ferry astronauts up to the Space Station and back starting in 2017.
This program was intended to allow NASA to delegate the relatively routine transport to and from low Earth orbit to private companies, in order to focus on a more ambitious mission to Mars. But NASA has previously said (http://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2015/0519-the-house-proposes-big-increases-to-planetary-sls-cuts-to-earth-science-and-commercial-crew.html) that cuts to this program will force it to renegotiate existing contracts with SpaceX and Boeing, and could mean substantial delays.
....

Цитировать http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-selects-four-astronauts-to-fly-commercial-crew-missions
....Boeing and SpaceX were sel ected for the final phase of the program, Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCAP), last fall. Their contracts with NASA require them to fly at least one crewed flight test with at least one NASA astronaut to the ISS to verify that the system can launch, maneuver in orbit, and dock to the ISS. To meet that requirement, the companies must provide the requisite training for the crews.

SpaceX founder, CEO and lead designer Elon Musk said  (http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/first-crewed-dragon-flight-to-orbit-will-carry-nasa-astronauts)last summer that SpaceX does not plan to have any astronauts of its own and only astronauts sel ected by NASA will fly to the ISS on Crew Dragon. (NASA is responsible for getting not only its own astronauts, but those of the non-Russian ISS partners -- Japan, Canada and Europe -- to and from the ISS under the Intergovernmental Agreement that governs the program.)  Boeing's John Elbon, vice president and general manager for space exploration, said  (http://spacenews.com/boeing-to-unveil-crew-spacesuits-for-cst-100-test-flight-this-summer/)in April that Boeing plans to fly one NASA astronaut and one Boeing test pilot on its test flight....

Цитироватьhttp://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/first-crewed-dragon-flight-to-orbit-will-carry-nasa-astronauts
Some of the companies competing for the commercial crew contract have indicated that initial orbital crewed flights may involve one crewperson fr om the company and another fr om NASA. Musk said tonight that SpaceX has no astronauts and the first crewed flight would be with NASA astronauts only. When asked when the first crewed flight would take place, therefore, Musk said that was NASA's call since it is the customer. He said little training is needed to fly aboard Dragon since it is entirely automated, including docking.

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg) Stephen Clark ‏@StephenClark1  (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1)  
 
Gerst: With SLS/Orion and two commercial crew ships, we're in the most intense period of human spaceflight development in our history.

12:01 - 28 июля 2015 г.  

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg) Stephen Clark ‏@StephenClark1  (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1)
 
Gerst: One commercial crew provider wanted to load propellant with crew on-board rocket. We're not comfortable, we'll have to work that out.

11:56 - 28 июля 2015 г.

ЦитироватьJeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/635826192579457024)

The announcement doesn't have any more details, but one guess it that it has to do with Blue Origin's interest in a Fla. launch/mfg. site.

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/635826014191534080)

Jeff Bezos will "make a significant announcement regarding the emerging commercial launch industry" Sept. 15 at a Cape Canaveral press conf.

ЦитироватьNASA Commercial Crew ‏@Commercial_Crew  (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew) 24 мин.24 минуты назад (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/665179752328773632)

Your spaceflight experience begins here! http://go.nasa.gov/1A4OVzi  (https://t.co/fBfwko7QvG)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158853.jpg)

ЦитироватьJan. 20, 2016
Eve of Launch: 2016 Goals Vital to Commercial Crew Success  
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207672.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/cadreastros-mural-big.jpg)
NASA's Commercial Crew astronauts Doug Hurney, Eric Boe, Bob Behnken and Suni Williams are working closely with Boeing and SpaceX this year as each company works toward flight tests.
Credits: NASA
 
By Steven Siceloff,
 NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
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.
"A year always seems like a long time when it starts, but the team at NASA and the teams at Boeing and SpaceX know it is going to feel like a very short time as we continue to progress from one step to the next in the final development of a new generation of American spacecraft," said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "Our success depends on the work we're doing now to make sure every component and system that will go into these vehicles is safe and reliable for the future."
Boeing and SpaceX are developing separate spacecraft and launch systems, along with the network of mission and ground support capabilities required to safely fly astronauts to the International Space Station. Commercial crew flights will add an additional crew member to the station, effectively doubling the amount of science and research crews can conduct in the orbiting laboratory.
Here is a rundown of what the companies aim to accomplish this year:
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208073.jpg)
Space Launch Complex 41 has seen a new Crew Access Tower tailored to the needs of astronauts and ground support staff who will access Boeing's CST-100 Starliner as it stands on the pad for launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Credits: NASA/Cory Huston
 
Boeing CST-100 Starliner/United Launch Alliance Atlas V
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208313.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/cst_atlas_launch_night_.jpg)
This artist concept shows Boeing's Starliner at Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V poised for a night launch to the International Space Station.
Credits: Boeing
 
Parachute Testing: Tests using a full-size spacecraft mock-up, parachutes and airbags will confirm the mechanisms that will allow the Starliner to safely land on land at the end of a mission.
Starliner Structural Test Article and Qualification Test Vehicle: The structural test article and qualification test vehicle are on pace for completion at the company's assembly facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will begin a detailed series of tests. The test articles are being built to the same specifications as an operational Starliner. Each will be put through rigors, such as structural load testing, heating and cooling cycles, intense vibration and electromagnetic interference in Florida and California to show the spacecraft will be safe when it encounters the same conditions in orbit. This year we will also see hardware start to come together for two flight tests, as well as two operational missions that NASA has already ordered from Boeing.
Atlas V Construction: At its factory in Decatur, Alabama, United Launch Alliance will begin production of the main boosters of the Atlas V rockets that will launch Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on flight tests to the International Space Station next year.
Space Launch Complex 41 Modifications: The 200-foot-tall Crew Access Tower is on target to be finished, including the addition of the crew access arm and white room, in 2016. The tower will be used by support staff for the first unpiloted flight test and in support of the astronaut corps as they board Starliners for crewed flights.
Part-Task Trainers: Simulators of all sorts are required to give astronauts and mission controllers a chance to become familiar with a mission profile and to practice for all types of situations. The first simulators for Starliner are to be delivered to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for astronaut training this year.
Spacesuit Qualification: The spacesuits Boeing plans for its crews to wear during launch and entry will go through myriad reviews and tests before they will be qualified for use. Engineers think of a spacesuit as a small spacecraft designed to keep an astronaut alive in tough circumstances, and want to make sure the suits will be up to the task.
C3PF High Bay and Mission Control Center Completion: Construction workers are putting the final touches on the high bay area of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy. Boeing leased the C3PF, as the facility is known, to be the home of the Starliners. The spacecraft will be assembled and processed for launch inside the building that formerly housed NASA's space shuttles and main engines between missions. Boeing also will complete its Mission Control Center at Kennedy across the street from the C3PF. The center will house controllers and engineers as they oversee the countdown and launch of Starliner flights and communicate with teams at Johnson.
High-Fidelity Boeing Mission Simulator: Boeing is constructing a full-scale, high-fidelity Starliner simulator that will let astronauts practice all the aspects of a mission. Unlike part-task trainers that focus on a specific mission element, the mission simulator is able to encapsulate all scenarios in a single platform. It is akin to the simulators NASA employed to train astronauts to fly the space shuttles.  
Drop Testing in Water: Although the Starliner is meant to land on land, Boeing is preparing for the unlikely case of an emergency water landing. The company will sling full-size Starliner mock-ups into a massive water tank at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia to test its performance in water. More than seeing whether it will float, designers want to see how the Starliner behaves when it hits the water, how it will right itself and how to handle recovery operations.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207530.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/23191225011_09d2d66ec5_o.jpg)
SpaceX's 300-foot long processing hangar, which stands at the base of Launch Pad 39A, and the upgraded launch infrastructure will support the needs of astronauts and ground support staff who will access SpaceX's Crew Dragon as it stands on the pad for launch to the International Space Station.
Credits: SpaceX
 
​ SpaceX Crew Dragon/ Falcon 9

Parachute Testing: Parachutes are vital for the safe return of our astronaut crews. This year, SpaceX will perform thorough testing of the chutes designed for Crew Dragons. Flown inside a transport aircraft, a Crew Dragon test article will be dropped thousands of feet to see how the four main parachutes deploy. Engineers will then review the data and components after landing to ensure that the systems work as expected.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208180.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/20886182720_4c92167fa9_o.jpg)
This artist concept shows SpaceX's Crew Dragon at Launch Pad 39A atop a Falcon 9 rocket poised for a launch to the International Space Station.
Credits: SpaceX
 
Spacecraft Testing and Training Mock-Ups: An already-built prototype Crew Dragon is being used to assess astronaut entrance, exit and cabin layout. Two high fidelity mock-ups will be used to perform structural and environmental system tests, including evaluations with hatches open and in other configurations to confirm the design's strength.
Crew Dragon Assembly Underway: Three Crew Dragon spacecraft are in different stages of production at SpaceX's headquarters and factory in Hawthorne, California. Two will perform upcoming flight tests to the International Space Station, one without a crew and one with astronauts aboard. The first of these spacecraft will be refurbished after flight for an in-flight abort test that will be conducted from Florida's Space Coast, while the third will fly the operational crew mission to the station by SpaceX.
Falcon 9 Evaluations and Manufacturing: SpaceX will use upgraded Falcon 9 rockets to lift Crew Dragons into space. The upgraded Falcon 9 rocket had its first flight in December 2015, a successful mission that deployed 11 commercial satellites and landed the first-stage back on land. The Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket that has launched numerous spacecraft into orbit, including cargo-laden Dragons that deliver supplies to the space station.
Launch Pad 39A Completion: SpaceX is on pace to finish extensive modifications of Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy so it can launch Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets this year. Built for the Apollo/Saturn V moon missions and rebuilt for space shuttle launches, the launch pad at has seen a 300-foot long processing hangar built at the base of the pad, the flame trench remodeled and rails added to move rockets into launch position. Workers will install a new crew access arm and white room so astronauts can board the spacecraft while it stands ready for launch atop a rocket.
Spacesuit Qualification: SpaceX will put its spacesuit through numerous tests and evaluations before it will be put on by astronauts headed into space. Even though astronauts will be inside the spacecraft for a mission, they will depend on the spacesuit to provide them with air and perform other functions.
Environmental Control and Life Support System: Testing is targeted for completion this year for the integrated system that provides crews with breathable, temperature-controlled air throughout their mission and keep all of the spacecraft's systems running smoothly.
 Validation of Propulsive Module Land Landing: SpaceX began testing the Crew Dragon propulsive land landing system in McGregor, Texas, late last year. A high-fidelity propulsive module will be used to perform validation testing of the propulsion system in support of land landings. While the company will initially land the Crew Dragon in the water underneath parachutes, the plan is to receive certification of the system for landings on land.  
 
Last Updated: Jan. 20, 2016
Editor: Steven Siceloff

Цитироватьhttps://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline/status/694629396318019585
Marcia Smith (https://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline)
Lisa Colloredo, NASA: Soyuz seats=$81 m each. We normalized cost of US cmrcl cargo seats and it is $58 m for 4 crew + cargo/mission.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
$58 X 4 = $232 млн.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
Хочется сказать что это за запуск...

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:

Цитироватьpnetmon   пишет:
Хочется сказать что это за запуск...

Естествено, за запуск.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
$58 за запуск могло бы быть только для Драгона. А как быть со Старлайнером? 8)

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
$58 за запуск могло бы быть только для Драгона. А как быть со Старлайнером? 8)
И какой смысл сравнивать такую цифру со стоимостью места в Союзе?

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
$58 за запуск могло бы быть только для Драгона. А как быть со Старлайнером?  8)  
И какой смысл сравнивать такую цифру со стоимостью места в Союзе?

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Нам ведь тоже хамство Маккейна приходится слушать. И что?  8)  

Цитировать https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/715552131323994115
Jeff Foust‏@jeff_foust
 (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust)18:51 - 31 марта 2016 г.
Gerst: commercial crew program doing pretty good overall, lots of challenges. Upcoming milestones: 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158183.jpg)

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
2017
август - стыковка Dragon v2 (SpX-DM2) (Харли, Уильямс) к МКС
октябрь - стыковка CST-100 Starliner (Boe-CFT) (Боу, Бенкен) к МКС

Цитироватьhttps://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/757578687453630464
25 июл. 2016 г.
Updated timeline of major commercial crew milestones. SpaceX certification review Oct 2017; Boeing in May 2018.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158645.jpg)

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg) Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust)  5 ч.5 часов назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/758717666823639041)  
Hale: our committee concerned about possible gap in NASA ISS crew access if comm'l crew delayed beyond 2018:
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/158624.jpg)

ЦитироватьNASA orders second SpaceX crew ferry ship             
 July 29, 2016 (http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/07/) William Harwood (http://spaceflightnow.com/author/bill-harwood/)

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS (http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/home/spacenews/spacenews1.html) & USED WITH PERMISSION
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155026.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155026.jpg)
Artist's concept of a SpaceX Crew Dragon on final approach to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

NASA has ordered a second commercial crew ferry ship from SpaceX, NASA announced Friday, as the agency continues its on-going push to develop U.S.-built spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, ending sole reliance on Russian Soyuz vehicles.
Not counting planned test flights, Boeing was awarded contracts last year to build two post-certification CST-100 "Starliner" ferry ships and the second order for a SpaceX piloted Dragon capsule completes the minimum number guaranteed under NASA's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability program. The current contracts include options for up to four additional spacecraft from each company.
SpaceX, which already launches supplies and equipment to the station using unpiloted Dragon cargo ships, tentatively plans to launch its first Crew Dragon on an unpiloted test flight as early as May 2017, according to internal NASA schedules, with a piloted test flight to the space station a few months later.
Boeing hopes to launch its CST-100 on an unpiloted test flight in December 2017 with the company's first piloted test flight in February 2018.
The CST-100 will be launched from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. SpaceX will fire its Crew Dragon capsules into orbit atop the company's Falcon 9 boosters using a retired shuttle pad, complex 39A, at the Kennedy Space Center.
Assuming the test flights go well, NASA will be ready to press ahead with operational crew rotation missions using the four vehicles currently under contract.
"The order of a second crew rotation mission from SpaceX, paired with the two ordered from Boeing, will help ensure reliable access to the station on American spacecraft," Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. "These systems will ensure reliable U.S. crew rotation services to the station, and will serve as a lifeboat for the space station for up to seven months."
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president and CEO, said the California rocket builder is making "great progress."
"We appreciate the trust NASA has placed in SpaceX with the order of another crew mission," she said in the statement, "and look forward to flying astronauts from American soil next year."
Since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011, NASA and its international partners have relied on Russia to launch crews to the space station and return them to Earth at a cost of more than $80 million a seat under current contracts with Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency.
Up to this point, the station's crew size has been limited by the number of astronauts and cosmonauts that can be carried up, three at a time, aboard Soyuz spacecraft. With two Soyuz vehicles docked at the station, a maximum of six crew members can be accommodated.
The CST-100 and Crew Dragon will typically carry four-person crews to the lab complex, boosting overall crew size to seven, "which will significantly increase the amount of crew time to conduct research," Julie Robinson, chief scientist for the station program, said in the statement.
While the new U.S. spacecraft will end NASA's sole reliance on Russia for transportation to and from the station, U.S.-sponsored astronauts will still fly aboard the Soyuz while cosmonauts will fly aboard the CST-100 and Crew Dragon.
That will ensure that at least one crew member from NASA and one from Roscosmos will be on board the station in the event of an emergency of some sort that might force one ferry crew to depart. At least one crew member from NASA and one from Roscosmos is required to operate the station's U.S. and Russian systems.

ЦитироватьCommercial crew delays could lead to gap in ISS access, NASA advisors warn
by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — August 2, 2016
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155640.jpg)
An illustration of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docking with the International Space Station. SpaceX is currently on schedule to be certified to carry NASA astronauts as soon as October 2017. Credit: NASA  
 
WASHINGTON — Although Boeing and SpaceX remain on schedule to have their commercial crew vehicles completed by 2018, an advisory group is worried about a potential gap in access to the International Space Station should they experience delays.
At a July 28 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council in Cleveland, members discussed the possibility NASA may have no means to send crews to the station should both companies fail to have their vehicles certified by the end of 2018, when NASA's current agreement with Russia for seats on Soyuz spacecraft expires.
Wayne Hale, interim chairman of the council's human exploration and operations committee, told the council that while both companies' current schedules have their vehicles ready by 2018 to carry NASA astronauts, "there is very little margin" in those schedules.
"Human spaceflight development programs invariably suffer schedules slips due to their technical complexity, and integration of commercial providers into government service adds further obstacles," he said. "It's therefore prudent to assume delays in the post-certification missions from the schedule."
Schedules presented at a July 26 committee meeting showed Boeing completing its certification review, the final milestone before operational flights, in May 2018. That comes after an uncrewed test flight of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in December 2017 and a crewed test flight in February 2018.
SpaceX currently has its certification review scheduled for October 2017. It has an uncrewed test flight of its Crew Dragon vehicle scheduled for May 2017, followed by a crewed test flight in August 2017.
With NASA's July 29 order of a second post-certification mission from SpaceX, the agency now has ordered four such missions from Boeing and SpaceX for crew transportation to and from the ISS. NASA has not formally scheduled any of those missions, or specified if Boeing or SpaceX will get the first such mission.
Both companies are making good progress on development of their commercial crew vehicles, said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA, at the July 26 meeting. "We are grinding through a lot of these very difficult activities," he said. "Now we're in the blocking and tackling phase of the program."
He acknowledged, though, that there could be changes in those schedules as both companies run into issues. One example is Boeing, who earlier this year delayed its two test flights by several months because of technical problems, including acoustic loads on its spacecraft and Atlas 5 rocket during launch that McAlister said the company has largely resolved.
"They're in the final stages of some wind tunnel testing. They think they have a good solution," he said, which involves installing an extended skirt behind the capsule. "We think that's a pretty good solution too, but we really want to see some of that final wind tunnel test data come through."
More such problems could crop up as the companies move closer to their test flights. "Our partners are doing a great job actively building and testing their hardware. Even though they're doing a great job, I would not be surprised to see some future adjustments to their schedules," he said. "Their schedules are optimistic but achievable."
McAlister said he felt there was sufficient margin in those schedules to ensure that at least one company was certified before the Soyuz agreement expires at the end of 2018. "I think we've got some margin today so that our partners are not feeling a lot of schedule pressure," he said.
At the NASA Advisory Council meeting, though, Hale said his committee was concerned about a gap, particularly since NASA has typically had to arrange Soyuz flights two to three years in advance. "Due to the long lead time to procure Soyuz seats, a decision must be made really very shortly — before the end of 2016 — to guarantee access to the ISS in 2019," he said, "or we may be forced to reduce or possibly eliminate its crew complement."
Hale said that conclusion was an "area of concern" for his committee, but stopped short of offering a specific recommendation to NASA. "We make no recommendation here, frankly, because we don't know what the solution would be other than to say that we need a backup plan," he said.
"The future availability of Soyuz is not certain" beyond the seats NASA has purchased through 2018, McAlister said at the July 26 committee meeting. "We're going to have to continue to monitor that and see whether we're going to need, and if we can purchase, more Soyuzes."

ЦитироватьMore Delays Coming for NASA's Commercial Crew Program?
Posted by Doug Messier (http://www.parabolicarc.com/author/doug/) on August 12, 2016, at 12:55 pm in News (http://www.parabolicarc.com/category/news/)

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67585.jpg) Eric Berger Подлинная учетная запись ‏@SciGuySpace  (https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace)
What I am hearing regarding NASA's commercial crew program: There is a "decent" chance a single, crewed mission will fly in 2018.
12:30 - 10 авг. 2016 г.

I asked Eric what he meant by this Tweet. He said he was referring to a crewed test flight of either SpaceX's Dragon or Boeing's CST-100 sometime by the end of 2018. That would push back the first commercial mission into 2019.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/232320.jpg) (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/07/27/boeing-spacex-cc-schedules/spacex_boeing_cc_schedule_july2016a/)
 The current schedules, which the space agency presented to the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) late last month, are shown above. Below are the key milestones for each company with their current and original schedules.
 

Boeing CST-100 Starliner

Current Schedule
 

[/li]
• December 2017: Flight test without crew
• February 2018: Flight test with crew
• May 2018: Certification review for commercial flights
  

Original Schedule
 

[/li]
• January 2017: Orbital flight test (OFT) flight test readiness review (FTRR)
• March 2017: Crewed flight test readiness review
• August 2017: Certification review for commercial flights
  

SpaceX Crew Dragon

Current Schedule
 

[/li]
• May 2017: Flight test without crew
• August 2017: Flight test with crew
• October 2017: Certification review for commercial flights
  

Original Schedule
 

[/li]
• March 2016: Fight test without crew
• October 2016: Flight test with crew
• April 2017: Certification review for commercial flights
  

Note that Boeing did not give months for its two CST-100 Starliner flight tests; instead, it showed readiness reviews that would precede these missions. Based on the current schedule shown in the table above, we can infer that flights would have followed within a month or so of the reviews.
Boeing's certification review, which would allow it to begin commercial flights, has slipped about nine months from August 2017 to May 2018. Boeing officials said they have been dealing acoustic load and weight issues with the capsule. They have said the weight is under control, and engineers are testing a solution for the acoustic load problem.
SpaceX has slipped 14 months on its first Dragon flight without a crew and 10 months on the crewed flight. Certification would occur in October 2017, only six months behind the original plan.
Phil McAlister, NASA's Director of Commercial Spaceflight, told the NAC last month that the current schedules are "optimistic but achievable."
NAC members expressed their concern that NASA could face a gap in accessing the station if there are further delays in the program. The space agency has only contracted with Russia for seats on the Soyuz spacecraft through 2018.
During a Q&A earlier this week with two NASA astronauts assigned to the commercial crew program, Commercial Crew Program Manager Kathy Lueders gave a vague answer about the progress of the two companies.
 

ЦитироватьWhat is the progress of the Commercial Crew Program?
I think people forget about the time frame and how short the time has been that our partners have been working on the final development of their spacecraft. We awarded the contracts in September 2014. Right now, the companies are in the midst of this grueling periods of getting their vehicles together and getting their structural test articles together. We're getting ready for flight tests. Most importantly, we're getting there as fast as we can safely fly.

Unlike during previous rounds of Commercial Crew Program funding, NASA is not issuing press releases each time a company has successfully completed a milestone. There were fewer schedule during these earlier phases.

ЦитироватьNASA OIG Report: Further Delays in Commercial Crew, More Payments to Russians
Posted by Doug Messier (http://www.parabolicarc.com/author/doug/) on September 1, 2016, at 11:24 am                         
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/232298.png) (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/09/16/nasa-selects-boeing-spacex-launch-americans-space-station/launch_america_commercial_crew/)
 An audit by the NASA Inspector General released today indicates that the commercial crew program will likely delayed further due to technical and administrative challenges at significant cost to U.S. taxpayers.
Synopsis
 

[/li]
• First commercial crew flights likely to slip to late 2018 — 3 years beyond original schedule
• Boeing and SpaceX facing significant design challenges, including CST-100 weight and excess seawater seeping into the Dragon capsule
• "Significant" delays in NASA evaluation of partner safety and hazard reviews and reports
• NASA to pay additional $490 million ($82 million per seat) for astronaut transport on Russian Soyuz through 2018
  

Below is a summary from the report. Read the full audit here (https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY16/IG-16-028.pdf).

 

Report Excerpt

What We Found
The Commercial Crew Program continues to face multiple challenges that will likely delay the first routine flight carrying NASA astronauts to the ISS until late 2018 – more than 3 years after NASA's original 2015 goal. While past funding shortfalls have contributed to the delay, technical challenges with the contractors' spacecraft designs are now driving the schedule slippages. For Boeing, these include issues relating to the effects of vibrations generated during launch and challenges regarding vehicle mass. For SpaceX, delays resulted from a change in capsule design to enable a water-based rather than ground-based landing and related concerns about the capsule taking on excessive water.
Moreover, both companies must satisfy NASA's safety review process to ensure they meet Agency human-rating requirements. As part of the certification process, Boeing and SpaceX conduct safety reviews and report to NASA on potential hazards and their plans for mitigating risks. We found significant delays in NASA's evaluation and approval of these hazard reports and related requests for variances from NASA requirements that increase the risk costly redesign work may be required late in development, which could further delay certification. Although NASA's goal is to complete its review within 8 weeks of receipt of a hazard report, the contractors told us reviews can take as long as 6 months. We also found NASA does not monitor the overall timeliness of its safety review process.
Given delays in the Commercial Crew Program, NASA has extended its contract with Roscosmos for astronaut transportation through 2018 at an additional cost of $490 million or $82 million a seat for six more seats. If the Program experiences additional delays, NASA may need to buy additional seats from Russia to ensure a continued U.S. presence on the ISS.

What We Recommended
To improve NASA's oversight of the Commercial Crew Program, we recommended the Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations (1) implement procedures to monitor the timeliness of NASA's review process for hazard reports to help reduce risk to the Program's schedule and (2) coordinate with Boeing and SpaceX to document a path to timely resolution for variance requests and hazard reports that have exceeded the review period goals. In response to a draft of this report, NASA managers concurred with our first recommendation and described responsive corrective actions. Therefore, the recommendation is resolved and will be closed upon verification and completion of those actions.
NASA management partially concurred with our second recommendation, agreeing coordination with its commercial partners is necessary to ensure hazard reports and variance requests are addressed at the appropriate time and stating it will continue to have weekly discussions with the companies to develop a path for timely resolution. However, we believe NASA needs to take additional action to ensure timely review of hazard reports and avoid the possibility of costly redesign late in the development schedule. Therefore, this recommendation is unresolved pending further discussion with Agency officials.

ЦитироватьNASA to pay additional $490 million ($82 million per seat) for astronaut transport on Russian Soyuz through 2018 

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
К вопросу до какого заплатили

ЦитироватьМаршрутка до МКС за $3,4 млрд, или почему американцы плачут и платят
 Андрей Гридасов (https://life.ru/author/1228)
 https://life.ru/403438

5 мая 2016

 Роскосмос регулярно поднимает ценники для США — с 2006 года билеты для астронавтов подорожали в четыре раза
....
По данным федерального портала госзакупок США, самый свежий денежный транш от NASA Роскосмосу датируется 28 марта 2016 года — Америка исправно платит за доставку астронавтов к своему сегменту МКС, и это обходится всё дороже. Как рассказали Лайфу в NASA, за последние десять лет полёты на орбиту подорожали в четыре раза — с $21,8 млн с астронавта до $81,9 млн.

Спойлер

...
В первую январскую неделю 2013 года, когда в России праздновали Рождество, президент США Барак Обама принял трудное решение: он поставил окончательную подпись под законом конгресса, разрешающим NASA до 2020 года платить Роскосмосу ежегодно сотни миллионов долларов за доставку астронавтов на МКС.
...
.— Американцы тогда внимательно изучали технологии, которые затем использовали для строительства своего модуля МКС, — рассказывает Андрей Ионин. — Самое смешное то, что деньги были возвратные: Роскосмос много лет бесплатно возил астронавтов на "Союзах", отрабатывая этот кредит. Только с 2006 года США стали платить России живые деньги за доставку астронавтов и грузов на орбиту "Прогрессами" и "Союзами" ( в NASA Лайфу уточнили, что отдельно не платят за перевозку грузов "Прогрессами" ) .
....
Сейчас работают две схемы доставки на МКС: в первом случае космический экипаж состоит из двух русских и одного иностранца, а в другом — наоборот. Обновление экипажа МКС происходит раз в три месяца — это четыре полёта на "Союзе" в год. Таким образом, Роскосмос продаёт иностранцам шесть мест в год.
 В Роскосмосе отказались отвечать на вопросы о финансовом аспекте сотрудничества с США, но в NASA дали выкладки.

[свернуть]

— Полная стоимость контракта на 2018 год — 491 172 275 долларов за шесть мест , — сообщил Лайфу представитель NASA Дэниел Хуот. — США приобретают места в "Союзах" для астронавтов NASA и международных агентств (европейское ESA, канадское CSA, японское JAXA), они потом компенсируются бартером. Четыре рейса в год: на двух по астронавту NASA, на двух — по одному астронавту и одному партнёру из международных агентств, итого шесть мест. В контракт входят приземление и спасение экипажа в 2019 году, вплоть до 31 декабря 2020 года , все необходимые тренировки и подготовка к запуску и полёту, доставка некоторого багажа экипажа до и от станции, а также дополнительные услуги, связанные с запусками и приземлениями.

Спойлер

Хуот привёл данные по перечислениям NASA Роскосмосу с 2006 года, и вышло, что с тех пор транспортировка подорожала вчетверо (кумулятивная инфляция — 276%):
 
Итого — $3,4 млрд. Для понимания, последний транш в полмиллиарда долларов — это около трети годового бюджетного финансирования Федеральной космической программы на 2016—2025 годы (104 млрд рублей). На вопрос о том, как Роскосмос обосновывал увеличение цен (при том что доллар с 2006 года девальвировал на 18%, рубль — на 145%), представитель NASA только констатировал, что у Штатов нет выбора.

"NASA нужно обеспечить доставку с помощью квалифицированного подрядчика для поддержания работы многомиллиардного актива и для выполнения обязательств NASA перед российскими, канадскими, европейскими и японскими партнерами . Таким образом, NASA необходимо приобретать места на «Союзах»" — представитель NASA Дэниел Хуот
....

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьQuооndo пишет:
3 сентября об этом объявили официально.

Цитироватьknezevolk пишет:
Где объявили? Ссылку.

ЦитироватьQuооndo пишет:
Да нет у меня ссылки сейчас под рукой.

Цитироватьsilentpom пишет:
а боинг сертифицировал ракетоносители (оба или только атлас?) как human-rated?

ЦитироватьRussian Crew Transportation Services Have Been Costly 

Until a domestic commercial crew capacity is available, NASA will continue to rely on Russia to transport crew to the ISS. As shown in Figure 4, the roundtrip cost for a seat on the Soyuz has increased approximately 384 percent over the last decade from $21.3 million in 2006 to $81.9 million under the most recent contract modification signed in August 2015. Under the 2015 contract, NASA will pay approximately $491.2 million for six seats in 2018. 

Table 3 shows the total number of Soyuz seats NASA has contracted for and the total cost of those seats by calendar year. 
 (https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/65176)
a  The 2018 amount includes six seats purchased in the August 2015 contract modification as well as an additional seat purchased in an April 2014 contract modification. 

Had the Agency met its original goal of securing commercial crew transportation by calendar year 2015, NASA could have avoided paying Russia close to $1 billion for Soyuz seats in 2017 and 2018, even factoring in the purchase of some seats in 2016 to cover the expected transition period.

ЦитироватьCommercial crew companies emphasize safety over schedule
by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — September 14, 2016
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155645.jpg)
Technical problems could delay the beginning of regular flights by SpaceX's Crew Dragon (left) and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner until at least late 2018. Credit: SpaceX artist's concept and Boeing  
 
LONG BEACH, Calif. — In the wake of a launch accident and a critical report, the two companies with NASA commercial crew contracts say they're committed to maintaining their development schedules, but not at the expense of safety.
During a panel session at the AIAA Space 2016 conference here Sept. 14, officials with Boeing, SpaceX and NASA went to great lengths to emphasize they would not rush the development and test flights of crewed vehicles despite a desire to have at least one company's system ready to start ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS before the end of 2018.
Prior to the Sept. 1 pad accident that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and its satellite payload, SpaceX had planned to perform a demonstration mission of its Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station without a crew as soon as May 2017, with a crewed demo mission to follow later in the year. But at the conference, Benji Reed, director of crew mission management at SpaceX, declined to give estimated dates for those missions.
"Our focus is getting able to fly again soon from our overall fleet perspective," he said of returning the Falcon 9 to flight. That investigation is not affecting various commercial crew activities, he added. "We're full steam ahead on crew, while we listen to the data and understand what's going on."
However, he did not commit to even approximate schedules for those key demo flights, or when he expected NASA to certify the Crew Dragon for operational missions. "We need to get that capability going, and we need to do it right," he said. "We'll fly when we're ready."
Kathy Lueders, NASA commercial crew program manager, said her program is participating in the accident investigation team established by SpaceX after the pad explosion. NASA's ISS and launch services programs are also represented on the team, which is led by SpaceX and also includes the U.S. Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration.
Chris Ferguson, deputy program manager for commercial crew at Boeing, restated a schedule for development of the CST-100 Starliner that the company has been reporting for several months. That plan includes an uncrewed flight test in late 2017 and a crewed flight test in February 2018. That schedule, he said, would allow the CST-100 to be certified in time for an operational mission in June 2018.
That schedule is more optimistic than an assessment in a Sept. 1 report by NASA's Office of Inspector General. That report found issues delaying development of commercial crew vehicles at both companies, and concluded that it was unlikely either would be certified to carry NASA astronauts before late 2018.
"It's a very aggressive schedule," Ferguson acknowledged of Boeing's plans. "We're optimistic that we're going to meet the deadline, but we'll fly when we're ready, and that's really what it comes down to. And if it takes a couple of extra months to ensure we have a safe vehicle, we'll do just that."
Both Ferguson and Reed discussed the technical progress they are making with their commercial crew efforts, including a series of tests of various spacecraft components. Those efforts also include finalizing upgrades to launch sites in Florida for crewed Atlas 5 and Falcon 9 launches, which both said are nearing completion to support those missions, whenever they take place.
"Obviously, from a commercial crew program standpoint it's really important that we make sure that we are all ready to fly when we feel like it's safe to fly our crews," Lueders said. "We've been working schedules, and the goal is to fly as quickly as we safely can, with a goal to fly in 2018."

ЦитироватьQuооndo пишет:
P,Sв клуарах НАСА поговаривают,

ЦитироватьPaleopulo пишет:
Просто товарищу очень хочется верить

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:
Ну так пусть верит. Я не возражаю. В одиночестве, перед зеркалом... Пусть даже помолится кому-нибудь об этом... Нас то зачем знакомить с основами своих суеверий?

Цитировать— Согласно наиболее свежему расписанию, первый беспилотный полет космического корабля Dragon в его пилотируемой версии — SpaceX Crew Dragon — намечен на май 2017 года, а полет корабля с экипажем назначен на август 2017 года, — заявила «Известиям» официальный представитель Центра Кеннеди NASA Табата Томпсон. — Первый беспилотный полет корабля Boeing's CST-100 Starliner намечен на декабрь 2017 года, а полет с экипажем — на февраль 2018 года. Даты дальнейших полетов новых кораблей пока не определены.

Цитироватьpnetmon пишет:
Одно радует в этой публикации в Известиях про слова НАСА - один "мальчик" на форуме так много кричал Волк, Волк. А тут вышел управляющий и сказал что Волка не видит. То есть официально НАСА не подтверждает произошедшего сильного изменения в расписании.

p.s. хотя может Известия не у того спрашивали , а мистер Quооndo (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/user/43036/) ?

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg) Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust)  9 ч.9 часов назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/780513808213172224)  
Bolden: "relatively confident" comm'l crew vehicles will be in ready in 2018. No plans to buy add'l Soyuz seats. #IAC2016 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IAC2016?src=hash)

ЦитироватьНАСА обдумывает возможность покупки мест на "Союзах" в 2019 году
04:27 02.10.2016
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/133309.jpg)
© Фото: NASA Johnson  (https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/29323401864/%20)

МОСКВА, 2 окт — РИА Новости. В подразделении НАСА, отвечающем за программу МКС, начались внутренние обсуждения покупки дополнительных мест на российских кораблях серии "Союз", несмотря на возможное недовольство со стороны Конгресса США, пишет ArsTechnica (http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/nasa-officials-mulling-the-possibility-of-purchasing-soyuz-seats-for-2019/) со ссылкой на двух чиновников в агентстве.НАСА сохраняет надежду, что американские Boeing или SpaceX сумеют построить пилотируемый космический корабль многоразового использования к началу 2018 года. Однако Boeing объявил о том, что проект Starliner уже упирается в дедлайн производства, а недавний инцидент с ракетой Falcon 9 компании SpaceX также делает неизбежной задержку ввода корабля Dragon в эксплуатацию.
В аэрокосмическом агентстве уже начинают поговаривать о дополнительных задержках, которые не позволят отказаться от помощи России, до 2019 года. Контракт НАСА с российской стороной на доставку американских астронавтов на МКС истекает в конце 2018 года.Россия является фактическим монополистом на отправку космонавтов на МКС. Одно посадочное место обходится НАСА в 81,9 миллиона долларов. На 2018 год НАСА оплатило доставку на станцию шести астронавтов. Глава НАСА Чарльз Болден неоднократно заявлял, что "устал выписывать чеки" России и верит в скорое возвращение пилотируемых полетов на американскую землю.
Boeing получил контракт на сумму в 4,2 миллиарда долларов на разработку нового пилотируемого космического корабля. SpaceX на те же цели было выделено 2,6 миллиарда.
По заявлению источников издания, переговоры с Роскосмосом необходимо начать как можно скорее, поскольку может потребоваться постройка дополнительных "Союзов".

Цитировать http://tass.ru/kosmos/3669726
СМИ: NASA изучает вопрос о покупке дополнительного числа мест на "Союзах" в 2019 году
ВАШИНГТОН, 1 октября. /Корр. ТАСС Дмитрий Кирсанов/. Национальное управление США по аэронавтике и исследованию космического пространства (NASA) приступило к внутриведомственному обсуждению целесообразности приобретения дополнительного числа мест на российских кораблях "Союз" для американских астронавтов в 2019 году. Об этом сообщил американский специализированный интернет-журнал Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/).
По его свидетельству, изучение данного вопроса ведут на данном этапе "руководители программы Международной космической станции (МКС) в NASA". Издание отмечает, что, насколько ему известно, официальных переговоров на эту тему с Роскосмосом NASA пока не вело. Тем не менее, такие переговоры придется начинать "достаточно быстро", поскольку в прошлом ракетно-космической корпорации "Энергия" требовалось около трех лет для создания одного корабля "Союз", подчеркивается в публикации. В ней также выражается мнение, что окончательное решение о том, покупать или нет дополнительные места на "Союзах" для доставки американских астронавтов на МКС, NASA, по всей видимости, примет уже после президентских выборов, предстоящих в США в начале ноября.
Как поясняет журнал, причиной рассмотрения вопроса о приобретении у России дополнительных мест для американских астронавтов явилось отсутствие у NASA полной уверенности в том, что частный сектор в США сможет начать в 2019 году или немногим ранее эксплуатацию кораблей, позволяющих доставлять экипажи на МКС. Сомнения на этот счет появились после нескольких крупных неудач, произошедших в развитии частной космической программы в США, включая взрыв ракеты Falcon 9 компании SpaceX на космодроме на мысе Канаверал (штат Флорида) в сентябре.
Корреспондент ТАСС направил в пятницу вопросы, касавшиеся нынешней публикации в Ars Technica, целому ряду сотрудников пресс-службы NASA, но ответа ни от одного из них пока не получил.
Последний контракт NASA с Роскосмосом на доставку астронавтов к МКС был заключен в прошлом году. В соответствии с ним за каждое место на "Союзе" США платят $81,7 млн.

Цитировать http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/nasa-officials-mulling-the-possibility-of-purchasing-soyuz-seats-for-2019/
 
RUSSIAN CAPITALISTS —NASA officials mulling the possibility of purchasing Soyuz seats for 2019 Congress, which recently has fully funded the private program, will be displeased.

Senior managers in NASA's International Space Station program have begun internal discussions about the possibility of buying additional Soyuz seats for US astronauts in 2019, two sources have told Ars. Although any final decision will likely come after the presidential election, the issue is "on people's minds" at Johnson Space Center as confidence in operational commercial crew flights beginning from US soil by or before 2019 is shaky.
Ars understands that NASA has not formally broached the topic with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency which builds the Soyuz spacecraft and rockets and manages their launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Negotiations would need to begin fairly soon, however, as it typically takes as long as three years of lead time for the Russians to manufacture additional launch vehicles.
...
A politically painful decision
A decision to buy seats almost certainly won't be made until December or later, because such an action would be politically painful for the space agency
.....
For example, one source familiar with the issue said it was unlikely that Russia would pay a comparable amount for a seat on a US commercial vehicle that NASA pays for Soyuz transport. (They might argue, for example, that the US vehicle is still in an experimental mode.)....

Цитироватьчто русская монополия на пилотируемые запуски продлится еще на один годик.

ЦитироватьBoeing получил контракт на сумму в 4,2 миллиарда долларов на разработку нового пилотируемого космического корабля. SpaceX на те же цели было выделено 2,6 миллиарда.

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg) Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust)  4 ч.4 часа назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/786242357381304320)
Asked Gerst during break on access to Soyuz post-2018 for NASA; he said it's not being discussed, still confident comm'l crew ready in '18.

ЦитироватьQuооndo пишет:
Задержки американцев будут. Они в полной попе.

Цитироватьhttp://www.interfax.ru/world/532703
 (http://www.interfax.ru/world/532703)13:46, 16 октября 2016 (http://www.interfax.ru/news/2016/10/16)
НАСА не будет продлевать контракт с "Роскосмосом" об отправке астронавтов к МКС
Москва. 16 октября. INTERFAX.RU - НАСА не планирует продлевать контракт с "Роскосмосом" на доставку астронавтов к Международной космической станции (МКС) после 2018 года, сообщил журналистам в субботу замглавы американского космического агентства по пилотируемым программам Уильям Герстенмайер.
"Нет, не планируем", - сказал он, отвечая на вопрос журналиста о продлении контракта на Байконуре.
Герстенмайер также отметил, что американский пилотируемый корабль, на котором НАСА планирует доставлять своих астронавтов к МКС, будет подготовлен в запланированный срок.
...

Цитироватьhttp://tass.ru/kosmos/3708604
 (http://tass.ru/kosmos/3708604)....
Он также отметил, что американский пилотируемый корабль, на котором NASA планирует доставлять своих астронавтов к МКС, будет подготовлен в запланированный срок.
...
В мае Герстенмайер уже заявлял, что NASA не планирует заключать новый контракт с Россией после 2018 года, поскольку в США создаются собственные корабли для полетов к МКС, и после 2018 года американские астронавты и российские космонавты смогут летать на орбиту по взаимозачету.
В июне глава госкорпорации "Роскосмос" Игорь Комаров сообщил, что российская сторона готова заключить с США новые контракты, если NASA не успеет к 2018 году создать собственные космические корабли для полетов к МКС.

Цитироватьhttp://kommersant.ru/doc/3118193
 (http://kommersant.ru/doc/3118193)....
Ранее замглавы Роскосмоса Сергей Савельев сообщил, что госкопрпорация не будет заключать новый контракт на доставку иностранцев на МКС после 2018 года.

ЦитироватьNASA's Commercial Crew Program By the Numbers (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/10/24/nasas-84-billion-commercial-crew-program/)
Posted by Doug Messier (http://www.parabolicarc.com/author/doug/) on October 24, 2016, at 12:43 am                                       
                          
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/232302.jpg) (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/01/26/nasa-commercial-crew-partners-lay-plans-human-spaceflight/commercial_crew_cst100_dragon_iss/)
 With the recent news that commercial crew flights to the International Space Station will likely slip to the end of 2018, I thought it would be a good time to review what NASA has spend on the program since it began in 2010. And, since NASA has separated cargo and crew, we will also look at the space agency's commercial cargo programs.
The table below shows that NASA has given out nearly $8.4 billion in contracts to Commercial Crew Program partners over the past six years. These figures do not include NASA's overhead.

Commercial Crew Contracts (Millions of Dollars)
 

Company	CCDev1	CCDev2	CPC	CCiCap	CCtCap	Totals
Boeing	$18.0	$112.9	$9.993	$480.0	$4,200.0	$4,820.993
SpaceX	–	$75.0	$9.589	$460.0	$2,600.0	$3,144.589
Sierra Nevada Corp.	$20.0	$105.6	$10.0	$227.5	–	$363.1
Blue Origin	$3.7	$22.0	–	–	–	$25.6
United Launch Alliance	$6.7	U	–	–	–	$6.7
Paragon Space Development Corp.	$1.4	–	–	–	–	$1.4
Alliant Techsystems	–	U	–	–	–	$0.0
Excalibur Almaz	–	U	–	–	–	$0.0
Totals:	$49.8	$315.5	$29.582	$1,167.5	$6,800.0	$8,362.382

CCDev-1 — Commercial Crew Development 1
  CCDev-2 — Commercial Crew Development 2
  CPC — Certification Products Contracts
  CCiCap — Commercial Crew Integrated Capability
  CCtCap — Commercial Crew Transportation Capability

Nearly $8 billion of the total has been given to two companies, Boeing and SpaceX. Boeing's contracts have totaled $4.8 billion for the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. SpaceX has received contracts worth $3.1 billion for Crew Dragon. Sierra Nevada Corporation received $363.1 million for development of its Dream Chaser shuttle.
NASA awarded $6.8 billion to Boeing and SpaceX for the CCtCap phase of the program. Under these contracts, the companies will complete development and testing of their vehicles and also fly commercial missions to the space station.
In the meantime, the space agency has been purchasing seats aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The table below shows the agency has signed contracts worth nearly $3 billion for seats through 2018.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/232330.jpg) (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/10/24/nasas-84-billion-commercial-crew-program/soyuz_seats_2011-18/)
Credit: NASA OIG
 
During that period, the cost of Soyuz seats have been going up sharply. The per seat price in 2011 was $37.7 million. For 2018, the price has increased to $82 million per round trip.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/232324.jpg) (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/09/01/rising-cost-relying-russians-iss-access/soyuz_seat_costs_2006-18/)
 While NASA has sent nearly $3 billion to Russia since 2011 to pay for access to ISS, Congress has cut the Obama Administration's requested funding for commercial crew by $1.1 billion over the years.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/232322.jpg) (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/09/02/congress-chronic-funding-nasas-commercial-crew-program/commercial_crew_funding_0916/)NASA and the Obama Administration have blamed Congressional cuts for delays in the program, which was originally schedule to begin flying in 2015. The under funding has led to additional costs as NASA has been forced to buy more Soyuz seats from the Russians.
In a report released last month, the NASA Inspector General reported that delays in the program over the past two years under the CCiCap contracts are due to SpaceX and Boeing running into technical challenges with their vehicles. Further, NASA has experienced delays in its safety review process.

Commercial Cargo

Commercial crew will only fill half of NASA's transportation needs for the space station. After losing two space shuttles and 14 astronauts to accidents, NASA decided to  separate crew and cargo into separate vehicles. To handle the cargo side, NASA embarked on two programs, Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) and Commercial Resupply Services (CRS).
The COTS program cost NASA about $800 million. Under the program, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Orbital ATK) developed new boosters and cargo ships to service the space station.
SpaceX's developed the Falcon 9 booster and Dragon supply ship — upon which Crew Dragon is based — under the COTS program. NASA contributed $396 million toward development of the vehicles. SpaceX provided $454 million of its own funding.
NASA contributed $288 million to the development of Orbital's Antares booster and Cygnus supply ship. Orbital contributed about $500 million of its own funding to the program.
Under the CRS-1 contract, NASA originally ordered 12 Dragon supply missions at a cost of $1.6 billion. The space agency has subsequently ordered an additional eight missions. It is estimated that NASA will spend $2.7 billion for the 20 missions ordered under CRS-1.
NASA originally ordered eight Cygnus cargo missions to ISS at a cost of $1.9 billion. The space agency has since added two additional missions to the CRS-1 contract, bringing the total number of flights to 10.
The price of the additional Cygnus flights are uncertain; if the average price per launch is the same as the original order, then the total under the CRS-1 contract would be close to $2.4 billion.
In January 2016, NASA awarded CRS-2 contracts to SpaceX, Orbital ATK and Sierra Nevada Corporation to provide cargo flights from 2019 to 2024. Each company is guaranteed six supply flights; NASA will order additional supply flights as needed. The program has a maximum potential value of $14 billion.

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg) Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/798193820525531136)
Williams: schedules for comm'l crew "remain optimistic": currently calls for certification for SpaceX Feb 18, Boeing May 18.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
А как же хвалёная восьмикратная эффективность?

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Кстати, по финансированию вижу только полуторакратный разрыв с Боингом. Максимум двукратный.

ЦитироватьВалерий Жилинский пишет:
Восьмикратная эффективность - это проектов с фиксированными ценами по отношению к проектам на принципах "затраты плюс прибыль". А программа CctCap, по настоянию Конгресса, финансируется, как раз, на принципах "затраты плюс прибыль".

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg) Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust)  27 мин.27 минут назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/798253175572557825)
Lueders notes that the dates for the SpaceX missions have not been updated since the last quarterly meeting in July (pre F9 accident).
 
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg) Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust)  39 мин.39 минут назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/798250223298609152)  
Schedules for Boeing and SpaceX's commercial crew efforts, from Kathy Lueders' presentation at NAC HEO committee meeting:
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/159166.jpg)

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185456.jpg) Parabolicarc.com ‏@spacecom  (https://twitter.com/spacecom)  2 ч.2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/spacecom/status/804040679294783488)     California, USA  (https://twitter.com/search?q=place%3Afbd6d2f5a4e4a15e)  
Bolden: commercial crew flight tests scheduled for "as early as" end of 2017 Not sure about that. Boeing definitely not. SpaceX probably not

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg) Chris B - NSF ‏@NASASpaceflight  (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight)  3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/816401558162305024)  
Chris B - NSF Ретвитнул(а) NASA Commercial Crew
It's all going on right now. Good news for Starliner and Dragon 2:
Chris B - NSF добавил(а),

Цитировать  (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/816396824491790337)  
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/156527.jpg)  
 NASA Commercial Crew  @Commercial_Crew  
Regular crew rotation flights with @BoeingDefense and @SpaceX to and from the @Space_Station are secured to 2024. http://go.nasa.gov/2iACB7k 

Цитировать https://www.nasa.gov/feature/mission-awards-secure-commercial-crew-transportation-for-coming-years
Jan. 4, 2017
Mission Awards Secure Commercial Crew Transportation for Coming Years
NASA took another big step to ensure reliable crew transportation to the International Space Station into the next decade. The agency's Commercial Crew Program has awarded an additional four crew rotation missions each to commercial partners, Boeing and SpaceX, to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

The four additional missions will fly following NASA certification. They fall under the current Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contracts, and bring the total number of missions awarded to each provider to six.

The additional flights will allow the commercial partners to plan for all aspects of these missions while fulfilling space station transportation needs. The awards do not include payments at this time.
...
The commercial crew vehicles will transport up to four astronauts for NASA missions, along with about 220 pounds of critical cargo to the space station.
...
Boeing's uncrewed flight test, known as an Orbital Flight Test, is currently scheduled for June 2018 and its crewed flight test currently is planned for August 2018. SpaceX's uncrewed flight test, or Demonstration Mission 1, is currently scheduled for November 2017, followed by its first crew flight test in May 2018.  Once the flight tests are complete and NASA certifies the providers for flight, the post-certification missions to the space station can begin.
...

Цитироватьhttp://spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=49783
...
NASA Solicitation: Procurement of Crew Transportation and Rescue Services From Boeing
GENERAL INFORMATION
Notice Type: Presolicitation
Posted Date: January 17, 2017
Response Date: Jan 27, 2017 4:30 pm Central
....
NASA is considering contracting with The Boeing Company (Boeing) for crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS) on the Russian Soyuz vehicle. This transportation would be for one crewmember in the Fall of 2017 and one crewmember in the Spring of 2018. NASA is considering purchasing these services from Boeing, without competition, because no other vehicles are currently capable of providing these services in Fall 2017 or Spring 2018. NASA has contracts with two U.S. commercial companies for crew transportation to the ISS. However, these vehicles are still in the developmental stage, and not expected to begin fully operational flights to the ISS until 2019. NASA also is considering an option to acquire crew transportation from Boeing for three crewmembers on the Soyuz in 2019, to ensure the availability of back-up transportation capability in the event the U.S. commercial contractor vehicles are delayed or to augment future ISS operations and research.

NASA is issuing this synopsis in order to provide notice of the Agency's requirements and to determine whether any other potential sources have the current capability to provide these crew transportation services in the needed timeframes. Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to provide the crew transportation services described below. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. The determination of whether or not to acquire these services without competition is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Submissions must be provided in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. local time on January 27, 2017. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. The Government intends to acquire the described services as a commercial item using FAR Part 12.

Спойлер

Description of Services to be Acquired

The services NASA is considering acquiring from Boeing are the launch, return, and rescue of U.S. or U.S. designated astronauts and associated services, which include the following:


• Launch and return of U.S. Operating Segment (USOS) Crew members to the ISS for planned six-month missions. 

• On-orbit rescue services for the duration of six-month missions.

• Provision of Emergency Rescue services and medical support, post flight medical support. 

• Search and Rescue services and recovery at landing site.

• Theoretical and practical training of Astronauts for nominal, off nominal and sea survival activities.
 
• Customized Astronaut launch, training and landing gear including: Seat liners, Sokol, Water Survival Cold Weather and Elemental Survival suits.

• Media personnel technical and logistical support to facilitate broadcasting of flight related activities, facilitating the communication of NASA and ISS success to the world. 
• Ground support and transportation for up to 110 NASA personnel and delegates for launch, landing and associated events including visa support, housing, logistics, security and clearance for facility access.
 
• Limited cargo services for storage, delivery to, and return, from the ISS including disposal of trash from the ISS for cargo associated with crew delivery and return.
 
• Spacecraft telemetry and support services for all stages of flight.

[свернуть]

Background

The purchase of these services in 2017 and 2018 will increase US crew size on the ISS from three to four crew members to maximize ISS science utilization. Maximizing science utilization of the ISS is a program priority as required by the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 and the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (CSLCA) of 2015. Given the statutory requirements contained in the 2010 Authorization Act and the 2015 CSLCA, NASA constantly seeks opportunities to maximize scientific utilization of the ISS to achieve the largest possible return on the investment made by the United States and its international partners in the development, assembly, and operations of this unique laboratory.

NASA also has a need for the option to procure crew transportation services in the spring of 2019 time frame to provide either a primary or a backup crew transportation capability. An option ordering period ending in the fall of 2017 will allow NASA to evaluate performance of U.S. crew transportation services providers currently on contract and determine if back up capability is needed or if more crew time may be necessary to maximize research onboard the ISS and the U.S. National Laboratory in 2019. Crew transportation services are currently provided via a contract with the Russian State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" through 2018. NASA has contracts with two U.S. commercial providers developing new crew transportation systems, which are anticipated to provide domestic crew rotation transportation service to and from the ISS beginning in 2019. In the event the U.S. commercial crew providers are delayed in demonstrating a fully operational capability to transport humans to space, the risk of de-crewing ISS greatly increases. The absence of US crew members at any point would diminish vehicle operations to an inoperable state. As a means to mitigate that risk and to ensure that proper launch cadence is maintained for future launches to the ISS, NASA intends to include a contract option from Boeing for its Soyuz seats in CY 2019 that will provide NASA with a capability to ensure uninterrupted access to the ISS while U.S. commercial providers establish that their vehicles have full operational capability, or provide for more crew time to maximize research onboard the ISS and the U.S. National Laboratory in 2019.

The Russian Soyuz is currently the only vehicle with the operational capability to provide crew services to and from the ISS in 2017 and 2018. There are eight Soyuz launches planned between CYs 2017 and 2018 (four per year). The crew capacity of the Soyuz is limited to a maximum of three crew members per vehicle. Because of this limitation, the current launch cadence utilized by NASA to transport crew to the ISS and maintain the current crew complement employs Soyuz launches that alternate between two types of crew configurations. The first Soyuz configuration ("Line A" ) includes a single US crew member and two Russian crew members that are transported to the ISS. The second Soyuz configuration ("Line B" ), usually timed to launch within a couple months of Line A, includes two US crew members and a single Russian crew member. This cadence maintains a typical crew complement of three US crew members aboard the ISS.

Russia recently announced its plans to decrement the Russian crew count onboard ISS from three to two, beginning in CY 2017. As a result of Russia reducing its crew count by one crewmember, there is now an available Soyuz seat in the 2017-2018 timeframe on each of the two planned spacecraft that would have otherwise had two Russian crew aboard. Of the 24 total Soyuz seats available in 2017-2018, the three seats resulting from the Russian crew decrement are the only available means of transporting additional US crewmembers to ISS during this period.

An agreement was recently reached between the Boeing Company and S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Public Corporation, Energia ("RSC Energia" ), who is the manufacturer of the Soyuz spacecraft and has the legal rights to sell the seats and associated services. As a part of this agreement, Energia agreed to provide to Boeing two specifically identified seats on the Soyuz spacecraft for long-duration travel to and from the ISS, one on a flight to occur in the Fall 2017 timeframe and another on a flight to occur in the Spring 2018 timeframe. Additionally, Energia provided Boeing three additional specifically identified seats in the Spring 2019 timeframe on two Soyuz spacecraft. Finally, Boeing and RSC Energia agreed that each of these five seats will include a launch of an individual to and from the ISS, including all services normally provided during launches to ISS. Boeing and RSC Energia have represented that Boeing has the full rights to these seats and can sell them to any third party.

Since both U.S. commercial contractors' vehicles are still in the developmental stage, and not expected to begin fully operational flights to the ISS until 2019, the Russian Soyuz is currently the only vehicle capable of meeting the Government's needs in the required timeframes. As stated above, Boeing has obtained the exclusive ownership rights to these particular Soyuz seats and ancillary services during the stated time periods. The option for these Soyuz services in the Spring of 2019 time frame may be utilized as a primary or backup transportation capability to ensure proper launch cadence with no gaps in crew rotation transportation, or to augment future ISS operations and research. However, after U.S. commercial entities are fully operational and able to fulfill crew transportation requirements, the U.S. commercial vehicles will be NASA's primary transportation source to ISS.

ЦитироватьMore Soyuz, please —
Technical troubles likely to delay commercial crew flights until 2019 Shiny new flight suits not withstanding, 2018 launch dates seem optimistic.  
 Eric Berger (https://arstechnica.com/author/ericberger/) - 1/27/2017, 4:41 PM
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/133933.jpg)
Enlarge (https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/16166773474_f639c4fa85_k-1.jpg) / SpaceX revealed its Dragon V2 spacecraft in May, 2014. It's still a ways from the launch pad.
SpaceX
 
This week Boeing made a public splash (https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/01/boeing-releases-snazzy-new-blue-spacesuits-for-starliner-fliers/) by debuting a new blue spacesuit for astronauts to wear aboard its Starliner spacecraft. What the company did not dwell on as it rolled out "Boeing Blue," however, was when the lighter, more modern-looking flight suits might be put into action with crewed flights into orbit.
That is because much work remains to integrate all of Starliner's various systems, including qualifying them for flight, ensuring their compatibility, and writing and testing software that will make for smooth flying. And Boeing is not alone; its "commercial crew" competitor SpaceX also faces similar technical hurdles with the Dragon V2 spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch it into space.
Boeing has set a "no earlier than" date of August 2018 for its first crewed test flight, and SpaceX has targeted May 2018. But those dates seem optimistic. Ars spoke to a handful of sources familiar with the commercial crew program this week, and all expressed pessimism about the public timelines the companies have for reaching the launch pad. According to this unofficial analysis, even a single crewed test flight in 2018 by either company now appears unlikely, as teams from both Boeing and SpaceX continue to work through significant technical issues.

 Space really is hard

There is an old cliché in the aerospace industry that is nonetheless entirely true—space is hard. Only Russia, the United States, and more recently China have ever launched humans into orbit. Now two private companies, funded by NASA, are seeking to do the same. That no one else has yet done this speaks to the challenge.
In the early part of this decade, a skeptical Congress hindered the commercial crew program by under-funding it, which caused initial delays from 2015 to 2017. Last year, for the first time, Congress more or less provided every penny NASA requested for its contracts with Boeing and SpaceX. In September, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin reported that (https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/nasa-inspector-commercial-crew-likely-wont-fly-until-late-2018/) delays beyond 2017 were largely due to technical issues. NASA, too, bore some of the blame for its lumbering evaluation and review processes as Boeing and SpaceX developed their spacecraft, Martin said.
NASA, of course, desperately wants the private companies to succeed. Since the Space Shuttle's retirement in 2011, the space agency has relied on Russia and its aging Soyuz family of rockets and spacecraft to transport its astronauts to the International Space Station. And in the meantime, Congress has groused about paying an increasingly steep price for Soyuz "seats."
 NASA currently has contracts with Russia through 2018 to get its astronauts to the station. However, a delay of test flights into 2019 would necessarily push the first "operational" commercial crew flights into spring or summer of 2019 at a minimum. So, earlier this month, NASA revealed a clever plan (https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/01/nasa-formally-seeks-option-to-buy-additional-soyuz-seats-for-2019/) that would allow it to procure additional Soyuz seats for 2019 while also reducing the threat of political blowback.
Officials within the ISS program, based in Houston, helped broker a deal for Boeing to acquire the "rights" to sell three Soyuz seats in 2019. Boeing received these rights from Russia's Energia as compensation for the settlement of a lawsuit involving the Sea Launch joint venture. In essence, then, when NASA tells the White House and Congress it needs to buy additional seats for 2019 due to commercial crew delays, it will be asking for money to buy them from Boeing—an American company—rather than Russia.

 Crew assignments 

NASA has therefore bought some more time for its commercial crew partners. As we get deeper into 2017, there are some clues that can help us track whether Boeing and SpaceX are making good progress. Foremost is the actual assignment of crews to the first missions.
The space agency has previously designated four veterans as its commercial crew astronauts—Bob Behnken, Sunita Williams, Doug Hurley, and Eric Boe—who have since been familiarizing themselves with both new vehicles. These four astronauts are unlikely to be assigned to Boeing or SpaceX until such time that crews are formally announced, not only for the initial two-person test flights, but also for the subsequent operational flights. So there would potentially be two two-person crews named (one for each Boeing and SpaceX), as well as two larger crews, which would include astronauts flying to the station for a regular, multi-month increment.
The timing of these announcements is critical, as they would have to occur at least 18 months before the operational flights begin. This would allow the astronauts flying to the station for long-duration missions time to prepare for all their work aboard the ISS. Ars understands the naming of these crews won't occur before at least June or July of this year—probably later.

 Rocket concerns

Both companies are having trouble with not only their spacecraft, but their rockets as well. The Starliner will launch on the highly reliable Atlas V rocket, but wind-tunnel tests have shown some problems with aeroacoustic issues when the Starliner is stacked atop the Atlas V during launch. Boeing may need to perform additional tests this year to demonstrate that it has moved beyond these issues.
For SpaceX, it will be critical to watch the company's development of its Falcon 9 rocket. With two failures in 18 months, the company needs to prove to NASA that its booster is safe. The issue is complicated by the fact that SpaceX continues to work toward a "final" version of its Falcon 9 rocket—Block 5—which founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said (https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/01/spacex-may-be-about-to-launch-its-final-expendable-rocket/) will fly by the end of this year. The Block 5 variant of the Falcon 9 is being designed for optimal safety and easier return for potential reuse. It will also be the variant upon which the crewed Dragon spacecraft ultimately flies.
 NASA will want to see multiple flights of this Block 5 version before it allows astronauts on top of it. Among those flights will be an uncrewed test flight of the Dragon V2 spacecraft, which will likely dock with the space station. As part of its milestones for Dragon V2, SpaceX nominally plans to conduct this uncrewed test flight in late 2017.
However, because it now seems unlikely that the Block 5 version of the Falcon 9 will make its maiden flight before late this year, the Dragon V2 test flight will almost certainly slip into 2018. How much it is delayed into 2018 should provide some clues as to how overly optimistic the rest of SpaceX's commercial crew targets remain.

  Promoted Comments

ЦитироватьStatistical (https://arstechnica.com/civis/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=268921) Ars Praefectus et Subscriptor (https://arstechnica.com/subscriptions/)
 jump to post (https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/01/sources-neither-boeing-nor-spacex-likely-ready-to-fly-crews-until-2019/?comments=1&post=32716479#comment-32716479)
 Space is hard. Cliche but true. Delays are all but inevitable. They were inevitable in Apollo and they are inevitable now. That Congress created necessary political delays on top of the real technical delays you know were coming is just stupid. Still even if they don't fly crews until 2019, the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, which includes both Commercial Crew and Commercial Resupply, will be an amazing success.
The development portion of COTS funding was $800M for resupply and $3.3B for crew (~$1.5B in development and $1.8B for certification flights). That includes funding for the spacecraft not selected as well. So for roughly $4B NASA got (or will get) three independent resupply vehicles and two independent crew transfer vehicles. That is just insanely low when you consider historically how much it has cost to develop a single new spacecraft. Plus those vehicles use a variety of launchers which means the entire fleet should never be grounded due to a fault in one launcher.
The services portion of COTS is up to $3.5B for resupply for up to 20 supply runs to the ISS and up to $5.0B for crew to provide up to twelve round trip crew flights (at least 4 astronauts per flight). The services portion is paid on a per mission basis so the numbers represent the max awards if NASA opts to use the maximum number of launches allowed by the contract. Most of this hasn't been paid yet.
 9930 posts | registered 9/27/2010

Цитировать https://www.wsj.com/articles/congressional-investigators-warn-of-spacex-rocket-defects-1486067874
Congressional Investigators Warn of SpaceX Rocket Defects

Government Accountability Office's preliminary findings show persistent cracking of vital propulsion-system components
...
The Government Accountability Office's preliminary findings reveal a pattern of problems with turbine blades that pump fuel into rocket engines, these officials said. The final GAO report, scheduled to be released in coming weeks, is slated to be the first public identification of one of the most serious defects affecting Falcon 9 rockets.
..
The final GAO report also will to delve into unrelated issues that threaten to delay initial launches of manned capsules by SpaceX and rival Boeing (http://quotes.wsj.com/BA) Co. Echoing conclusions of other studies by outside experts, GAO investigators have determined that both companies are likely to miss a 2018 deadline to start regular missions (https://www.wsj.com/articles/spacex-has-delayed-first-manned-nasa-launch-to-2018-from-2017-1481581294) ferrying astronauts to the international space station.
According to industry officials familiar with the draft report, the GAO also pinpointed frequent modifications of Falcon 9 designs as a potential source of delays in obtaining NASA certification of the booster.
For Boeing, these officials said, GAO investigators—among other items—raised questions about the status of tests to determine the reliability of its parachute systems designed to help returning manned capsules land safely.
....

Цитировать https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/02/report-congressional-analysts-worry-spacex-engines-are-prone-to-cracks/
ERIC BERGER (https://arstechnica.com/author/ericberger/) - 2/3/2017, 3:30 AM
...
Boeing has set a "no earlier than" date of August 2018 for its first crewed test flight as part of the commercial crew program, and SpaceX has targeted May 2018. The new GAO report is consistent with schedule concerns raised previously about the viability of those dates. According to an unofficial Ars analysis (https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/01/sources-neither-boeing-nor-spacex-likely-ready-to-fly-crews-until-2019/) published in late January, even a single crewed test flight in 2018 by either company appears unlikely. Operational flights appear unlikely before mid-2019.

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/31669.jpg) Marcia Smith ‏@SpcPlcyOnline  (https://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline) 9 мин.9 минут назад (https://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline/status/832311106207088642)
GAO says NASA needs to develop a backup plan in case of further delays in c crew. NASA agrees. http://gao.gov/assets/690/682859.pdf ... (https://t.co/KjGCzvZ4vj)

ЦитироватьFebruary 2017
NASA COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM
Schedule Pressure Increases as Contractors Delay Key Events

What GAO Found

Both of the Commercial Crew Program's contractors have made progress developing their crew transportation systems, but both also have aggressive development schedules that are increasingly under pressure.
The two contractors — Boeing and Space Exploration Technologies, Corp. (SpaceX) — are developing transportation systems that must meet the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) standards for human spaceflight — a process called certification. Both Boeing and SpaceX have determined that they will not be able to meet their original 2017 certification dates and both expect certification to be delayed until 2018, as shown in the figure below.
 The schedule pressures are amplified by NASA's need to provide a viable crew transportation option to the International Space Station (ISS) before its current contract with Russia's space agency runs out in 2019. If NASA needs to purchase additional seats from Russia, the contracting process typically takes 3 years.
 Without a viable contingency option for ensuring uninterrupted access to the ISS in the event of further Commercial Crew delays, NASA risks not being able to maximize the return on its multibillion dollar investment in the space station.
 (https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/file/68667)
Both contractors are also dealing with a variety of risks that could further delay certification, including program concerns about the adequacy of information on certain key systems to support certification. Another top program risk is the ability of NASA and its contractors to meet crew safety requirements.

The Commercial Crew Program is using mechanisms laid out in its contracts to gain a high level of visibility into the contractors' crew transportation systems. The program is using a different model than every other spacecraft NASA has built for humans. For example, NASA personnel are less involved in the testing, launching, and operation of the crew transportation system. The program has developed productive working relationships with both contractors, but the level of visibility that the program has required thus far has also taken more time than the program or contractors anticipated. Ultimately, the program has the responsibility for ensuring the safety of U.S. astronauts and its contracts give it deference to determine the level of visibility required to do so. Moving forward though, the program office could face difficult choices about how to maintain the level of visibility it feels it needs without adding to the program's schedule pressures.

ЦитироватьLRV_75 пишет:
Ну что, график НАСА по SpaceX потихоньку "удивительным образом" начинает сходится с моим графиком  ;)

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:

ЦитироватьLRV_75 пишет:
Ну что, график НАСА по SpaceX потихоньку "удивительным образом" начинает сходится с моим графиком  ;)  

Опять врешь, убогий? Ты трындел про 2019й год...

ЦитироватьВалерий Жилинский пишет: 

ЦитироватьLRV_75 пишет: 
https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY16/IG-16-028.pdf 

Статус по выполнению вех SpaceX по пилотируемой программе. Состояние на июль 2016.
Стрелками обозначены перенесенные вехи. 7(!!!) Вех перенесено на 2-3 месяца.И это статус ДО аварии 1 сентября.
С учетом аварии 1 сентября эти вехи сдвинутся еще на 5-6 месяцев. Т.е. в 2017 году выполнение всех Вех уже технически невозможно.

Мальчик Роман, LRV_75, тебя Quооndo покусал? Бедненький. Иди ко врачу, прививки сделай. Это заразно. Ещё домой эту дрянь притащишь, жену заразишь...

Всё это возможно, но всё это натягивание совы на глобус. Уже сейчас понятно, что причина аварии Фалькона не имеет никакой связи с Драконом.

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет: .
ну, в основном ты нес всякую херню.

ЦитироватьLRV_75 пишет:
У меня в таблице и есть 2019 год? И сейчас и 4 месяца назад ;)

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:

ЦитироватьLRV_75 пишет:
У меня в таблице и есть 2019 год? И сейчас и 4 месяца назад  ;)  

Правильно, дурачок... А первый полет с экипажем - 2018 год...

ЦитироватьLRV_75 пишет:
Дебилушка,несертифицированный полет у меня и стоял и сейчас и 4 месяца назад в 2018 году, а сертифицированный в 2019  ;)

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:

ЦитироватьLRV_75 пишет:
Дебилушка,несертифицированный полет у меня и стоял и сейчас и 4 месяца назад в 2018 году, а сертифицированный в 2019  ;)  

Опять врешь, убогий... Ты изначально о 2019 как годе первого полета трындел. Так что давление то в щёчках сбрось, а то еще лопнут...

ЦитироватьNASA developing contingency plan for commercial crew delays
by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — February 16, 2017
  (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155645.jpg)
NASA will develop a contingency plan by mid-March to ensure continued access to the ISS if SpaceX's Crew Dragon (left) nd Boeing's CST-100 Starliner suffer additional delays. Credit: SpaceX and Boeing  
 
ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA plans to complete by the middle of March a contingency plan for ensuring access to the International Space Station should its two commercial crew partners suffer additional delays.
In a response included in a U.S. Government Accountability Office report issued Feb. 16, Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, concurred with a report recommendation that NASA develop alternative ways of getting astronauts to and fr om the ISS if commercial crew vehicles are not certified once NASA's current contract with Russia for Soyuz flights expires at the end of 2018.
"NASA will develop a contingency plan for maintaining a presence on the ISS beyond 2018 if the Commercial Crew Program's partners experience additional schedule delays," Gerstenmaier wrote. That report, he said, would be completed by March 13.
The GAO recommended the report because of concerns that Boeing and SpaceX will not have their commercial crew vehicles certified to carry astronauts by the end of 2018. Those certification reviews, which will come after both uncrewed and crewed test flights of their vehicles, are intended to confirm that the vehicles are able to safely transport astronauts to and from the station.
The certification review for SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle is currently planned for the third quarter of 2018, after an uncrewed test flight in November 2017 and a crewed test flight in May 2018. That review is at least 15 months later than the original schedule for the vehicle in SpaceX's contract with NASA.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner is currently scheduled to have its certification review in the fourth quarter of 2018, after an uncrewed flight test in June 2018 and a crewed flight test in August 2018. That review is at least 14 months behind the original schedule in Boeing's contract.
While both companies state they are making good progress on their vehicles after encountering a range of technical issues, NASA is less confident in their ability to remain on their revised schedule. "The Commercial Crew Program is tracking risks that both contractors could experience additional schedule delays and its own analysis indicates that certification is likely to slip into 2019," the GAO report stated.
One challenge in coming up with a contingency plan is that the advance time for purchasing Soyuz seats from the Russian space agency Roscosmos has traditionally been three years, which would have required NASA to purchase seats for 2019 flights to the ISS in 2016. As of last fall, NASA officials had indicated that they had no plans to purchase additional seats.
According to the GAO report, NASA and Roscosmos are discussing one option wh ere they would repeat the "year in space" experiment of 2015 and 2016, when NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko spent nearly one year on the ISS. A second one-year mission, starting in late 2018, would eliminate NASA's need for one seat in mid-2019 as that astronaut would remain on the station until late 2019.
Another option not directly addressed in the report is for NASA to purchase Soyuz seats from Boeing. In January, NASA announced it was considering a Boeing proposal to purchase two Soyuz seats in the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, with an option for three additional seats in 2019. Boeing acquired the seats from Russian company RSC Energia as part of a settlement of a lawsuit between the two companies about the Sea Launch joint venture.
NASA issued a "sources sought" announcement Jan. 17 seeking responses from companies before entering into negotiations with Boeing for a sole-source contract to acquire the seats. Neither Boeing nor NASA have provided an update about any negotiations since that announcement. According to the announcement, NASA has until the fall of 2017 to exercise the option for the Soyuz seats in 2019.
As NASA examines its options, Boeing and SpaceX are dealing with technical issues with their vehicle designs. Boeing's top risks, according to the GAO report, include obtaining adequate information about the capsule's parachute system and getting data on the design of Russian-built RD-180 engines used by the CST-100's launch vehicle, the Atlas 5. The engine data is needed by NASA to verify the engine meets human certification requirements, but access to the data is restricted.
SpaceX's risks involve a number of issues with the design of the Falcon 9, including a concern that frequent updates hinder the development of a stable design of the vehicle. Another issue is previously-reported criticism by some NASA advisers about SpaceX's plans to fuel the Falcon 9 after astronauts have boarded the Dragon spacecraft, rather than fueling the rocket first.
A recent news report stated that NASA had also raised concerns about cracks seen in the turbines of the Falcon 9's engines that NASA deemed an "unacceptable risk" for crewed launches. That issue was included in the GAO report, but it also noted that SpaceX has already made design changes to the turbine that "did not result in any cracking during initial life testing."

ЦитироватьShotwell to GAO: "The [heck] we won't fly before 2019"
 
Marcia S. Smith
Posted: 17-Feb-2017
 Updated: 17-Feb-2017 06:34 PM
 
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell reacted to GAO's report yesterday that commercial crew flights may slip from 2018 to 2019 by expressing utmost confidence in her company's schedule.  At a Kennedy Space Center (KSC) press conference today in advance of SpaceX's commercial cargo launch tomorrow, she said the company's response to GAO is "The [heck] we won't fly before 2019."  
 
 SpaceX is scheduled to launch its 10th operational commercial cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA tomorrow at 10:01 am ET from KSC's historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A)  The press conference was as much about this first use of LC-39A for a Space X mission as about the launch itself.   The launch pad was used for Apollo missions to the Moon and many space shuttle launches, including the first one in 1981. Shotwell and KSC Director Bob Cabana, himself a space shuttle astronaut, struggled to find words to express their excitement about seeing the pad back in use.
 
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/234836.png)
 NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell, and SpaceX Senior Vice President and General Counsel Tim Hughes in front of KSC's Launch Complex 39A, February 17, 2017.  Screengrab from NASA TV.
 
 SpaceX currently takes cargo to the ISS for NASA and also is building a version of its Dragon spacecraft to transport astronauts there.  Yesterday's GAO report (http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-to-provide-commercial-crew-backup-plan-by-March-13-in-response-to-gao) assessed the progress SpaceX and its competitor in the commercial crew program, Boeing, are making on their programs.  It warned that neither is likely to meet their current plans to launch crews in 2018 and called on NASA to develop a contingency plan if those capabilities slip to 2019.   NASA agreed to prepare such a plan by March 13.
 
 Asked about the likelihood that SpaceX will meet its 2018 schedule, Shotwell firmly asserted:  "I'm confident we will fly in 2018," adding that their response to the GAO report is "the [heck] we won't fly before 2019."
 
 Tomorrow's launch is on schedule as of press time, but Shotwell was asked about a helium leak that was discovered today.  She explained that the leak is in the Falcon 9's second stage helium system and is being investigated.   The launch remains "go" for now, but she said they would have a better understanding later this evening.   If the launch does not take place tomorrow, the backup launch date is Sunday at 9:38 am ET.   NASA TV will provide live coverage of the launch and a post-launch press conference currently scheduled for 12:00 pm ET tomorrow.

Цитировать http://gao.gov/assets/690/682859.pdf
...
In 2015, the United States modified its contract with Roscosmos to provide crew transportation to the ISS for six astronauts through 2018 with rescue and return through late spring 2019. The contract extension was valued at $491 million or approximately $82 million per seat. NASA's contract with Roscosmos permits it to delay the use of the final seat by up to 6 months to late spring 2019, with a return flight approximately 6 months later.
...

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29890.jpg) NASA Commercial Crew‏Подлинная учетная запись @Commercial_Crew (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew) 3 ч назад (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/847155921549774850)

Updated Collector Cards and Bookmarks Available Now! Download and Print yours! https://go.nasa.gov/2nBa9Gv  (https://t.co/uladNyVr8y)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/157636.jpg)

ЦитироватьUpdated Collector Cards and Bookmarks Available Now!
Posted on March 29, 2017 at 2:25 pm (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/03/29/updated-collector-cards-and-bookmarks-available-now/) by Steven Siceloff (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/ssicelof/).

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130588.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/collectorcard2017-blue.pdf) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130586.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ccp-upadtedboeingbookmark.pdf)(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130589.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/collectorcard2017-boeing.pdf) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130590.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/collectorcard2017-snc.pdf) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130591.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/collectorcard2017-spacex.pdf)(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130587.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ccp-updatedspacexbookmark.pdf)
 
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." (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/a-new-market-emerges)
                
 This entry was posted in NASA (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/nasa/) on March 29, 2017 (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/03/29/updated-collector-cards-and-bookmarks-available-now/) by Steven Siceloff (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/ssicelof/).

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg) Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 38 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/848884507411456002)

ARTICLE: SLC-41 completes EES installation ahead of Starliner missions - (plus SLS EES upd ate) - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/04/slc-41-completes-ees-starliner-missions/ ... (https://t.co/ypXqXiFN1R)
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ЦитироватьSLC-41 completes EES installation ahead of Starliner missions
April 3, 2017 by Chris Bergin
 
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209157.jpg)

An Emergency Egress System (EES) has completed its installation into the Crew Access Tower (CAT) at Space Launch Complex -41 (SLC-41) in preparation for Atlas V launches with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. The EES is a vital element for all crew launch vehicles, with the SLC-41 EES working with the traditional "slide wire" concept.
 
 SLC-41 EES:

The requirement to have an Emergency Egress System (EES) is not just for the astronauts se t to ride uphill fr om the launch pad, but also for the engineering teams who's role includes working up close and personal with the rocket in the final days of the pad flow.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208956.jpg)

ULA began evaluating options for SLC-41 during a period Atlas V was catering for two crew-capable vehicles options, namely Starliner (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/starliner/) – or CST-100 as it was known – and Sierra Nevada Corporation's (SNC) and their Dream Chaser (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=SNC) spacecraft.

"Different options for emergency egress. Detailed hazard analysis of the launch operations is a key determinant," noted the since-retired Dr. George Sowers, ULA VP for Human Launch Services, during a Q&A session with NASASpaceFlight.com members (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=29751.0) in 2012. "We have the option of implementing a shuttle-like slide wire system if required."

Although Atlas V is still hoping to launch Dream Chaser missions, the spacecraft's role has been refocused on cargo missions (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Dream). The EES option will still be employed for pad crews tending to the spacecraft. However, the highlighted role will be for astronauts riding on the Starliner.

Спойлер

The historical heritage of the EES hardware has mainly been based around utilizing a fairly simple, gravity-powered systems with a requirement to be passive/unpowered, in case the emergency cut power to the pad. However, each option had a different take on a similar theme.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231616.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231616.jpg)

The first EES for the Saturn V used the existing launch tower elevators to evacuate crew and/or engineers to the base of the Mobile Launch Platform, before transferring to a "slide tube" that led in an underground rubber room/sealed blast room – which remains in a preserved condition at Complex 39. (Large photo collection available on L2 – LINK (https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=16024.0)).

A second system was added a few years later, adding the option of a single cab on a slide wire that egressed the astronauts outside of the pad perimeter – known as the Blast Danger Area (BDA) – 2,400 feet away fr om the pad. From there, they would enter a sealed bunker and await rescue.

This slide wire system was expanded by the time the Space Shuttle began its service for NASA, with extra emphasis on the pad EES, not least because a pad abort was not possible via the vehicle, due to the lack of a LAS (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/las/).

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231617.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231617.jpg)

Engineers installed five slide wires to the launch tower – later expanded to seven – with baskets that could hold up to four people each.

These slidewires ended at the same Apollo bunkers outside the BDA, wh ere personnel could wait out the disaster or transfer to an armored vehicle (M-113) and drive to a triage site wh ere they could be met by rescue personnel.

The slide wire option remained relatively unchanged throughout its career with the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) and was thankfully never required or used in anger.

It was used – mostly uncrewed – during emergency drills carried out on occasions such as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/06/sts-135-atlantis-tcdt-external-tank-death-camera-ready/) (TCDT), allowing the crew to practice their evacuation plans.

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With ULA working on SLC-41 (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/08/pad-changes-new-era-space-coast/) during regular Atlas V missions (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/atlas-v/), this week's announcement that a final test of the pad's EES has been conducted is another step towards seeing US astronauts launching from the Cape.

"ULA is absolutely focused on the safety of the crews we will be supporting and although we hope to never use it, we are excited to announce the Emergency Egress System is fully operational," said Gary Wentz, Vice President of Human & Commercial Services.

"Through our partnership with Terra-Nova, a company that designs and builds zip lines for recreational use, a modified, off-the-shelf product has been designed and constructed to meet our needs and reduce costs, while maintaining reliability and safety."

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The egress cables are situated on level 12 of the Crew Access Tower (CAT), 172 feet above the Space Launch Complex 41 pad deck and will allow the crew to evacuate the CAT quickly to a landing zone more than 1,340 feet from the launch vehicle.

The EES can accommodate up to 20 personnel, including ground crew and flight crew.

ULA noted that Terra-Nova, LLC (makers of the ZipRider Hybrid) offered a commercially developed EES based on their "off-the-shelf," patented designs.

The ZipRider was easily adaptable to ULA's specific needs while offering an unmatched safety record, and providing the best overall value.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209093.jpg)

With Boeing's Chris Ferguson – a former Shuttle commander (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=ferguson) – enjoying a test ride on the system ahead of its installation at SLC-41, it takes just 30 seconds for the rider to reach a top speed of 40 mph. The riders control their speed by releasing pressure on the handles, with the ability to glide to a gentle stop at the landing zone.

There are 30 feet of springs on each cable located in the landing area to gradually slow a rider down if they forget to brake. Terra-Nova will install a training system located north of the CAT for riders to practice on before final training on the operational EES.

"Crew safety is paramount, and the ULA emergency egress system hits the mark for an effective yet simple system that is adapted from other commercial applications," said Commander Ferguson, Boeing director of Starliner Crew and Mission Systems.
 
"We look forward to spaceflight operations next year knowing that every measure to protect the flight and ground crew has been employed."

There's also been internal movement on the EES that will be employed for the Space Launch System (SLS) (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sls/) on Pad 39B (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/39B/), years after a trade study began to evaluate the best EES option for safely evacuating crew and engineers from the dizzy heights of the Mobile Launcher (ML) (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/ML/). Teams have been told to accelerate options in light of the recent study into changing Exploration Mission -1 (EM-1) into a crewed mission (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/02/investigating-potential-crew-sls-maiden-flight/).

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Currently, only one patchy render of the system has been acquired (L2) (https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42529.0) – showing the use of a massive crane.

"Members of the Operations Integration and Analysis team developed, modeled, and created images of an Emergency Egress System concept in support of the Crewed SLS EM-1 Mission Study," noted a memo via L2 (https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42529.0).

"The orange frame depicts the fixture with the four baskets lifted by a mobile crane and attached to the west side of the Mobile Launcher. The ground distance from the tower to the end of the slide wire is over 1100 feet, and the wire would be approximately 1300ft long. These images were used in the crewed EM-1 impact briefing to NASA Headquarters."

The use of a massive crane will be far cheaper than the recommended option from the 2006 study for the since-cancelled Ares I launch vehicle EES (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2006/11/nasa-will-build-rollercoaster-for-ares-i-escape/), once again pitching several very different designs against each other – including a slide wire system.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231615.jpg) (http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2007/10/major-redesign-to-ares-i-roller-coaster-previous-concept-scrapped/)

The winner of the 2006 study was the spectacular Roller Coaster EES – a giant structure that would have been a permanent fixture out at Pad 39B, rising into the Florida skyline ready to be hooked up to the ML once it had rolled out to the pad with the vehicle.

The Roller Coaster EES included a multi-car high-speed rail system and used gravity to get personnel to a safe haven. It was deemed to be very accommodating to incapacitated crew members as well as limited 3G forces on the people riding the cars with a passive electromagnetic braking system.

It underwent a few redesigns during the life of the Constellation Program, including options to extend the rails to an area outside the BDA directly into a triage site.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231618.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231618.jpg)

For this system, NASA relied on many different areas of expertise: Safety, Medical, Operations Personnel, and the Astronaut Office. Engineers involved in Disney's roller coaster systems were also part of the design project.

The 2006 trade study – (available on L2 LINK (https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=29415.msg942668#msg942668)) – helped explain the requirements of the future EES, of which there are numerous considerations. These considerations will be playing into the SLS trade study discussions.

"The EES starts at the crew hatch of the Orion and terminates at the designated safe area. Once the crew access arm is extended, a maximum of 2 minutes for 15 able bodied personnel (six crew members, three closeout crew members, and six fire/rescue members) is allowed to move from the hatch to inside the safe area during vehicle processing at the pad up to T-0.

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"The EES shall provide a safe area built to withstand possible blast, fire, and flying debris within the 5,000-ft blast danger area of the tower. The EES shall accommodate the following hazards at the pad: fire, propellant spills, tank overpressure, radioactive-material release, and toxic atmosphere.

"The EES shall provide a clear route from Orion hatch to the egress vehicles with provision for 0.25 gpm/sq ft of water spray and fire detection for the EES before entering the vehicles."

The list continued for two pages, and despite being by far the most expensive, the Roller Coaster EES scored the highest in nearly all of the requirement categories.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231619.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/231619.jpg)

The 2006 study design was refined again in 2008 (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2008/07/ares-i-rollercoaster-ees-continues-to-evolve/), mainly relating to the initial drop from the ML, in turn providing a CGI view from both onboard the coaster and viewing it drop from various viewpoints (L2 Link to Video (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=10075.0)).

However, the Constellation Program was then canceled.

Pad 39A's EES (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/39A/) will be mainly focused around the needs of the pad engineers, given astronauts onboard the Dragon 2 (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/dragon-v2/) will find their spacecraft will be the fastest way of egressing the pad in the event of an emergency ahead of launch.

Dragon 2 will fire her SuperDraco thrusters in the event of a pad abort scenario, as has already been tested (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/05/dragon-2-pad-abort-leap-key-spacex-test/).

(Images: Via Boeing, ULA and L2's specific sections. To join L2, click here: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

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Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185645.jpg) ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 16 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/848666632347992066)

ULA worked w/Terra-Nova, which designs & creates rec zip lines, to modify ZipRider to meet our needs for the EES #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #Starliner (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starliner?src=hash)

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185645.jpg) ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 16 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/848666138267471872)

Completing Emergency Egress System testing is another step complete as we prepare to launch crew in @BoeingDefense (https://twitter.com/BoeingDefense) #Starliner (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starliner?src=hash) atop #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash)

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185645.jpg) ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 17 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/848659462797840384)

Zip line to safety: ULA completes final testing on its Emergency Egress System. #Starliner (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starliner?src=hash) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) @BoeingDefense (https://twitter.com/BoeingDefense) http://bit.ly/2oquaBb  (https://t.co/uQmxVijXlD)
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ЦитироватьUnited Launch Alliance Completes Crew Emergency Egress System

ULA and Terra-Nova Zipline provide NASA and commercial astronauts with safe, new generation egress option

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (April 2, 2017) – The final test of the Emergency Egress System (EES) was conducted recently, signifying the completion of another United Launch Alliance (ULA) milestone supporting NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The EES was developed in support of Boeing's Starliner crew capsule and is a means of rapid egress for astronauts in case of an anomaly.

"ULA is absolutely focused on the safety of the crews we will be supporting, and, although we hope to never use it, we are excited to announce the Emergency Egress System is fully operational," said Gary Wentz, vice president of Human & Commercial Services. "Through our partnership with Terra-Nova, a company that designs and builds zip lines for recreational use, a modified, off-the-shelf product has been designed and constructed to meet our needs and reduce costs, while maintaining reliability and safety."

The egress cables are situated on level 12 of the Crew Access Tower (CAT), 172 feet above the Space Launch Complex 41 pad deck at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and will allow the crew to evacuate the CAT quickly to a landing zone more than 1,340 feet from the launch vehicle. The EES can accommodate up to 20 personnel, including ground crew and flight crew.

Terra-Nova, LLC (makers of the ZipRider® Hybrid) offered a commercially developed EES based on their "off-the-shelf," patented designs. The ZipRider was easily adaptable to ULA's specific needs, while offering an unmatched safety record, and providing the best overall value.

In just 30 seconds, the rider reaches top speeds of 40 mph. The riders control their speed by releasing pressure on the handles, with the ability to glide to a gentle stop at the landing zone. There are 30 feet of springs on each cable located in the landing area to gradually slow a rider down if they forget to brake. Terra-Nova will install a training system located north of the CAT for riders to practice on before final training on the operational EES.

The Boeing Company is developing Starliner and sel ected ULA's Atlas V rocket for human-rated spaceflight to the International Space Station. ULA's Atlas V has launched more than 70 times with a 100 percent mission success rate.

"Crew safety is paramount, and the ULA Emergency Egress System hits the mark for an effective yet simple system that is adapted fr om other commercial applications," said Chris Ferguson, Boeing director of Starliner Crew and Mission Systems and a former NASA astronaut. "We look forward to spaceflight operations next year knowing that every measure to protect the flight and ground crew has been employed."

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 115 satellites to orbit that aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for troops in the field and enable personal device-based GPS navigation.

For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch (https://www.facebook.com/ulalaunch), twitter.com/ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) and instagram.com/ulalaunch (https://instagram.com/ulalaunch).          

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185645.jpg) ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 26 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/848929369573785602)

Final qualification, loads analyses. Flight design. Final assembly. Preparing to launch #Starliner (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starliner?src=hash) in 2018.

ЦитироватьAtlas V Starliner 2017: Preparing to Launch Astronauts to the Space Station

United Launch Alliance is thrilled to be working with Boeing to launch astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner atop ULA's #AtlasV rocket. Here's what's in store for 2017 as we prepare to launch astronauts to the Space Station beginning in 2018.

youtube.com (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLlZJLWEm9E)

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185600.png) SpaceFlight Insider‏ @SpaceflightIns (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightIns) 17 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightIns/status/848935619480965121)

Returning astronauts safely: Starliner test provides crucial re-entry data

ЦитироватьReturning astronauts safely: Starliner test provides crucial re-entry data
April 3rd, 2017

by Tomasz Nowakowski

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/234721.jpg)
A high-altitude balloon lifts off in White Sands, New Mexico, carrying a boilerplate of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner to perform a drop test of the spacecraft's parachute system. Photo Credit: Boeing

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Boeing is currently in the midst of parachute drop tests for its CST-100 Starliner (http://www.boeing.com/space/starliner/) spacecraft, which are being carried out to ensure future astronauts a safe return from space. The latest test, conducted March 10, 2017 (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boeing-cst-100-starliner-parachute-system-test-launch-lifts-off-successfully-from-spaceport-america-in-new-mexico-300422075.html), at Spaceport America in New Mexico, provided a wealth of data essential for the safety of crews during re-entry into the atmosphere.

During the test, a giant helium-filled balloon lifted off from Spaceport America, carrying a flight-sized boilerplate Starliner spacecraft up to about 40,000 feet (12,200 meters). It floated east across the San Andres Mountains for a parachute landing on the other side at White Sands Missile Range.

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"What the balloon launch and release enabled us to do is to test the highest-fidelity Starliner capsule possible in terms of size, shape and weight," Rebecca Regan of Boeing's Defense, Space and Security (BDS (http://www.boeing.com/company/about-bds/)) division told SpaceFlight Insider, "Performing this in New Mexico enabled us to take the vehicle up to about 40,000 feet before releasing it." 
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/234722.jpg)
Seen from the top hatch of the Starliner boilerplate, parachutes deploy as planned to land the vehicle safely during a test of the parachute system. Photo Credit: Boeing

 After the capsule was released from the balloon, it deployed two drogue parachutes designed to stabilize the spacecraft at 28,000 feet (8,530 meters). Next, at approximately 12,000 feet (3,650 meters) above the surface, Starliner opened its pilot parachutes, while its main parachutes were deployed at 8,000 feet (2,440 meters), before the spacecraft's base heat shield was jettisoned.

"We placed sensors onboard the boilerplate spacecraft that collected data real-time, and we're able to provide that to NASA as insight into how we'll be giving astronauts a safe return from space," Regan said.

Engineers will use the data collected during the test to verify parachute inflation characteristics and landing system performance, as well as the altitude and descent rate of the Starliner spacecraft at touchdown. Analyses of the data will tell if the parachute system can stabilize and decelerate the capsule to a nominal terminal descent velocity, what is necessary in order to achieve a safe landing.

The parachute drop tests campaign is part of the final development and certification effort under way for the CST-100 Starliner in collaboration with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html).

"These qualification tests are more comprehensive than our initial drop tests, which were meant to prove out concepts, capture data and influence the final design," Regan said. "We are now testing all of the subsystems and systems together and replicating the environment the spacecraft would encounter on an entry from orbit, including the parachutes, the avionics systems, the pyros and the deployment sequence."

While the test conducted in late February simulated a nominal return from space, Boeing now plans to introduce anomalies into future tests to see how the vehicle recovers from something like a drogue failure or a main parachute failure.

Starliner's next parachute drop tests in the New Mexico area are planned to be carried out over the next few months.

The CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was designed to accommodate seven passengers, or a mix of crew and cargo, for missions to low-Earth orbit. For NASA service missions to ISS, it will carry up to four NASA-sponsored crew members and time-critical scientific research.

Regan confirmed that Starliner is on track for an uncrewed orbital flight test in June 2018 and a crewed flight test to ISS with one NASA and one Boeing astronaut onboard in August 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWFgfUyqIxU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWFgfUyqIxU)
Video courtesy of Boeing

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ЦитироватьОпубликовано: 3 апр. 2017 г.

United Launch Alliance is thrilled to be working with Boeing to launch astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner atop ULA's #AtlasV (https://www.youtube.com/results?q=%23AtlasV) rocket. Here's what's in store for 2017 as we prepare to launch astronauts to the Space Station beginning in 2018.

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29890.jpg) NASA Commercial Crew‏Подлинная учетная запись @Commercial_Crew (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/850046243854311425)

Boeing powered up its #Starliner (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starliner?src=hash) spacecraft in its Florida facility in major step toward flights to @space_station (https://twitter.com/Space_Station): https://go.nasa.gov/2o6XJWW  (https://t.co/SsrCmFOeht)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/157732.jpg)
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ЦитироватьBoeing Powers On Starliner Spacecraft For First Time
Posted on April 6, 2017 at 1:59 pm (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/04/06/boeing-powers-on-starliner-spacecraft-for-first-time/) by Steven Siceloff (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/ssicelof/).

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130592.jpg)

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Engineers for the first time powered up the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft that will fly Boeing's inaugural flight test of the next-generation spacecraft. Working inside Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the test team activated the flight avionics system for the Starliner known as Spacecraft 1. The system is the same astronauts will use for all Starliner missions.

The avionics is the complex suite of equipment and software that work together to maneuver the spacecraft in orbit, conduct the rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station and communicating with Mission Control on the ground. Whether under manual control by the crew or in automatic mode, the flight computers have to work seamlessly with the thrusters,  guidance and navigation system and other subsystems to perform the mission and then return back to Earth safely.

The Starliner is being built as an upper half and lower half that will be bolted together following successful systems testing. Once completed, Spacecraft 1 will be launched without a crew on a flight test to demonstrate its capability to abort a mission from the launch pad in the unlikely event of an emergency. Later flight tests will demonstrate Starliners in orbital missions to the station without a crew, and then with astronauts aboard. The flight tests will preview the crew rotation missions future Starliners will perform as they take up to four astronauts at a time to the orbiting laboratory in order to enhance the research taking place there. Photo credits: Boeing

This entry was posted in NASA (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/nasa/) on April 6, 2017 (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/04/06/boeing-powers-on-starliner-spacecraft-for-first-time/) by Steven Siceloff (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/ssicelof/).

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg) Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 18 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/850465597766983684)

FEATURE ARTICLE: Commercial Crew on tight but achievable timeline for crewed flights in 2018 - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/04/commercial-crew-tight-achievable-timeline-2018/ ... (https://t.co/NLIjUoi3MQ) - by @CwG_NSF (https://twitter.com/CwG_NSF)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/157571.jpg)

ЦитироватьCommercial Crew on tight but achievable timeline for crewed flights in 2018
April 7, 2017 by Chris Gebhardt

 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209150.webp)

The long and arduous process of achieving commercial crew transportation services to space is closing in on an important milestone. At a recent update to the NASA Advisory Council, NASA's commercial crew transportation services program manager discussed numerous aspects to SpaceX and Boeing's progress over the last few months and revealed that, while the timeline is tight, the two companies are on track for their scheduled crew demo flights of Dragon and Starliner in 2018.

Commercial Crew services – gaining ground on 2018 crewed test flights:

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As part of the standard series of reviews before the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/CCP/) has provided an update on SpaceX and Boeing's initiatives to provide crew launch services to the International Space Station beginning next year.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209140.png)

Overall, the presentation by Ms. Kathryn Lueders, Manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Commercial+Crew), to the NAC was overwhelmingly positive, with Ms. Lueders noting that she's been "impressed with how both these providers with their fixed price contracts are not writing off their issues.  They're not saying it's okay.  They are going and doing the testing and the work that needs to be done. 

"And I've been super impressed with how they've done that."

Ms. Lueders was specifically referencing the tight but achievable timelines both SpaceX (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=SpaceX) and Boeing have in order to meet the current projected dates for both company's crewed demo flights of Dragon and Starliner, respectively.

Both of those flights are currently scheduled for 2018 – with SpaceX's crewed demo in May and Boeing's (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Boeing) in August.
 
When asked by a NAC member about the crewed launch dates for next year, Ms. Lueders stated, "I think a lot of things have to go our way.  I think they are pretty tough right now.

"But I would say [those dates] are not impossible.  I think the providers have a plan to get there for at least their crewed demos next year.  I think it's a little tougher to say for the PCM."

The PCMs – the Post-Certification Missions – are the contracted flights NASA has with SpaceX and Boeing for full commercial crew transportation and lifeboat services with the ISS.

"The schedule doesn't have a lot of margin, so I think it's very challenging," stated Ms. Lueders.  "We just have a whole lot of work in front of us, but [both providers] would like to fly as soon as possible. I think the big challenge right now is to fly when we're all ready to fly and working through that."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208935.jpg)

Regardless of the challenges still facing both Boeing and SpaceX in their development of crew transportation services, none of those prevented NASA from awarding PCMs 3-6 to both providers in December 2016.

According to Ms. Lueders, "This is important for us because we wanted to really let both providers understand and lay out what's the best way for them to reliably fulfill the whole portion of the contract.  [Awarding PCMs 3-6 to each] gives them some stability" to go do that.

However, Ms. Lueders noted that even though these PCMs have been awarded, the specific mission requirements are still at NASA's full discretion and the agency is continuing to work with both SpaceX and Boeing to "burn down key certification products with the providers."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208936.jpg)

With these awards, both SpaceX and Boeing have four missions for each of them for commercial crew rotation services and lifeboat activities for the US segment crew on Station at upcoming dates.

"We now have these missions in flow," stated Ms. Lueders.  "We're really getting into how we're going to conduct these missions."

At present, the CCP office is working with SpaceX and Boeing to make sure all parties involved understand the requirements that need to be closed out and met for each of the upcoming demonstration missions – both uncrewed and crewed – so that all flight test objectives are planned for and met properly.

Likewise, "We've also been designing the commercial crew work with providers and how we work with the Station so that the whole timeline syncs up because we really want to make sure that we streamline all of our reviews as we're approaching FRR (Flight Readiness Review) so the providers aren't having to integrate everything themselves."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208948.jpg)

Ms. Lueders also touched upon how NASA is approaching the launch of crew members, government employees, on commercial vehicles that have to undergo FAA licensing for launch.

"Another thing we've been working is that this is going to be a new way of doing things – it will be the first crewed mission under FAA licensing."

This means that the first commercial crew launches of government employees will represent the first instances that certain sections of the FAA oversight guidelines governing commercial space vehicles are exercised.

According to Ms. Lueders, "We've been working and collaborating with multiple agencies to make sure we can facilitate how this is going to work.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209141.png)

"And then through that interaction we'll hopefully have everything defined well enough that it makes the providers' job of meeting these regulatory standards as streamlined as possible."

Moreover, the CCP has been working closely with the Eastern Range and the Air Force to "synergize [their] certification efforts."

Specifically, this relates to search and rescue and recovery operations that are needed to support the launch of crewed vehicles.

This has resulted, according to Ms. Lueders, in the creation of a launch and entry steering group with representatives from the FAA, the Air Force, the Eastern Range, and NASA all working to provide a "forum for all the agencies to ... establish guidelines and strategies" for this new approach to crew launch and landing operations.

 ...
(Images: NASA and L2 artist Nathan Koga – The full gallery of Nathan's (SpaceX Dragon to MCT, SLS, Commercial Crew and more) L2 images can be *found here (https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38476.0)*))

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Цитироватьtnt22 пишет:
Управление Генерального инспектора НАСА 2017-04-13 выпустило документ "NASA's Plans for Human Exploration Beyond Low Earth Orbit" (77 стр, 6694172 B)

 https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY17/IG-17-017.pdf

и видео

 https://oig.nasa.gov/Video/IG-17-017.html
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj_dSRTCJ6U - 4:39)

ЦитироватьApril 20, 2017

 Commercial Crew Spacecraft Will Offer a Quick Escape fr om Station

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207661.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/benefit-ccp_lifeboatweb_banner.jpg)
 
 By Steven Siceloff,
 NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida

New, American-made spacecraft flying to the International Space Station will play a big role in bringing resident crews back home to Earth, but their missions also include the ability to provide the orbiting laboratory with a temporary shelter in case of an emergency in space, or even a safe ride back to Earth with short notice.

The scenarios that would call for the spacecraft to operate as space-borne lifeboats have not occurred on the International Space Station before, but mission planners have long made sure they are prepared. An electrical issue or ammonia leak on the space station could call for astronauts to shelter inside a Commercial Crew Program spacecraft long enough to correct the problem.

A medical emergency requiring surgery on an astronaut would be a case demanding immediate evacuation from orbit to Earth, something the spacecraft supporting NASA missions would be equipped to handle. The Soyuz spacecraft handle the lifeboat capability needs for the station's current crews.

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The need for a quick departure is more than a luxury for the space station. Every person on the orbiting complex has a specific emergency seat assigned throughout their mission that they have to get to if the need arises. Because there are limits to how many seats are available at a time, there also is a lim it to how many residents can live and work there.

What does it mean for a spacecraft to be capable of serving as a lifeboat? As with all the needs for the new spacecraft, NASA outlined a list of requirements for designers to meet. For the most part, it means the spacecraft can be powered on quickly while docked to the station, even if it has been dormant for weeks or a couple of months. From air circulation fans to life support systems to thrusters, the spacecraft's systems will be designed to engage in minutes.

"Some systems will take longer to bring online, but the idea is to have spacecraft that astronauts can get into quickly for survival and then use to pull away from the station and come home if that is needed," said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "Defining exactly what that means, and what the companies can do to make it real was the hard part. That's why we took a teamwork approach from the start and why we've treated this as a partnership."

Boeing and SpaceX, each working on their own crew-capable spacecraft — the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon, respectively — are testing their systems thoroughly on Earth before they undergo evaluation in orbit without a crew aboard, and then on a short mission with astronauts. Their performances in space – without an actual emergency – are to be considered carefully before NASA certifies the companies to fly operational missions, which could see a spacecraft docked to the station for months at a time.

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Last Updated: April 20, 2017
Editor: Steven Siceloff

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185659.jpg)  James Dean‏Подлинная учетная запись @flatoday_jdean (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean)  3 ч.3 часа назад (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/867062188938334210)  
Lightfoot: Astros to launch from U.S. soil "here in a couple of years." Docs say SpaceX targeting certification by Aug. '18, Boeing Oct. '18

ЦитироватьCommercial crew vehicles may fall short of safety threshold

by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — May 30, 2017

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155333.jpg)
While both SpaceX and Boeing are making progress with their Dragon v2 (left) and CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in terms of improving their safety, both are facing challenges to meet a specific safety threshold in their contracts. Credit: SpaceX artist's concept and Boeing

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WASHINGTON — The two companies developing commercial crew vehicles for NASA may not be able to meet a safety threshold specified in their contracts, an agency safety panel found.

At a meeting May 25 of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, members said Boeing and SpaceX were making good progress in improving the safety of their vehicles in advance of test flights scheduled to begin within the next year, but have yet to achieve a key requirement in their Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts.

That requirement is known as loss of crew (LOC), a measure of the probability of death or permanent disability of one or more people on a spacecraft during a mission. The CCtCap contracts included a requirement that the spacecraft have a LOC of 1 in 270 or better. The shuttle program, by comparison, had a LOC of 1 in 90 at the time of the program's retirement in 2011.

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"The number one safety-related concern for the program is the current situation with respect to the estimate of loss of crew," Donald McErlean, a former engineering fellow at L-3 Communications and a member of the panel, said at the meeting. "The threshold values were considered to be challenging, and both contractors currently have a challenge to meet that precise number."

McErlean didn't identify specific issues the companies were facing in their efforts to meet that LOC threshold. One factor, though, he said, is how the companies and NASA calculate the risk to the spacecraft fr om orbital debris and micrometeoroids while in orbit.

"The numbers themselves depend very heavily on the model of orbital debris that one utilizes to develop the risk to the system," he said. "That is a driving factor in determining the potential for loss of crew." Those models, he said, "have been validated to some degree, but they are not perfect."

That assessment matches a February report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/682859.pdf), which also warned that the companies could face problems reaching that LOC requirement. It cited the orbital debris and micrometeoroid environment of low Earth orbit as one of the main safety risks for the program.

If either or both companies can't meet the LOC requirement with the spacecraft, NASA may have to issue waivers for that requirement. "That remains a risk to the program that will have to be addressed, in all likelihood, by a risk acceptance waiver," McErlean said.

"It may be necessary to do a formal risk acceptance of the variance from the stipulated goal," he said later in the meeting. "We would remind NASA that that risk acceptance, including a complete presentation of the alternatives and the consequences, should be made formally, and that risk acceptance signed off by appropriate authorities."

Despite the concern about the potential risk of not meeting the LOC requirement, McErlean praised the companies for working to improve the safety of their vehicles, in part because of the motivation to try and reach that safety threshold placed in the CCtCap contract.

"We are very pleased to report that those requirements did drive systemic behavior on the part of both contractors," he said. "They have expended considerable time and energy in making their systems considerably safer than they might have been without such an incentive, and they have achieved considerable progress from the first time the estimates were made."

He also warned against placing too much emphasis on the LOC metric alone. "One has to be judicious in how one applies these statistical estimates," he said. "One has to look at whether or not the contractors have expended the necessary effort and engineering activity to make the system as safe as they conceivably can and still perform the mission."

He added that he was "very positive" both companies were doing so. "There was no known or indicated area wh ere with, by spending even a small amount of money, the contractor could have made their systems considerably safer."

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, has also warned against focusing too much on the LOC statistic alone in weighing risks of flying crewed spacecraft.

"Blindly striving to achieve a statistical loss of crew number may drive you to design a system that is less safe," he said in a February speech at a Federal Aviation Administration commercial space transportation conference here. That sounded counterintuitive, he acknowledged, but noted measures that can, on paper, reduce the LOC figure, like the addition of redundant systems, can increase a vehicle's complexity and result in unforeseen failure modes.

The use of LOC is good when comparing the relative safety of different designs in the same model. "But it's not a very good tool for determining absolute risk," Gerstenmaier. "That really misleads, sometimes, our overall design decisions."

"I really don't have a better method than to use this as a absolute measure of safety," he said of LOC. "We just need to be careful when we discuss these numbers."

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ЦитироватьCommercial Crew providers making "significant progress" toward first flights
June 27, 2017 by Chris Gebhardt

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209200.webp)

As the mid-way point of 2017 arrives, both of NASA's Commercial Crew Program service providers are making significant progress toward the first uncrewed test flights of their Dragon and Starliner capsules.

At their second quarter 2017 meeting, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel noted this progress while also discussing outstanding concerns regarding the program and vehicles as well as the positive steps being taken to address these matters.

Commercial Crew progress:

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During last month's NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=ASAP) second quarter meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, the panel noted the "significant progress" both Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=CCtCap) providers are making toward their first uncrewed demo flights.

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...

Notwithstanding the ultimate commencement of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=CCP) flight operations, the ASAP noted its concern and recommendations regarding CCP provider System Engineering & Integration (SE&I) process and controls.
 
...

... the ASAP's previously put forward a recommendation at a meeting in first quarter 2017 that NASA "require the commercial crew providers to produce verifiable evidence of the practice of rigorous, disciplined, and sustained SE&I principles in support of NASA certification and operation of commercial crew transportation services to the International Space Station (ISS)."

Based on the wording of the CCtCap contracts, both providers are allowed to utilize their corporate policies rather than NASA-traditional SE&I processes; however, the contracts also stipulate that NASA will confirm – through documentation, requirements verification, and deliverables – that both company's have adhered to SE&I principals.

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Nonetheless, the ASAP "remains concerned."

According to the minutes of Dr. Sanders' remarks, "the ASAP remains concerned that no amount of insight or oversight by the CCP can ensure that the appropriate level of engineering discipline and control is employed unless the providers have internalized the need for it and made it an inherent part of their corporate culture."

...

Dr. Sanders' opening statement closed with a reminder of an already-established ASAP recommendation that "Regardless of the methodology employed, both providers need to demonstrate that the proper controls are in place to ensure hardware is properly qualified, hazards are identified and appropriately mitigated, and the system is employed within the constraints of that qualification."

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As the meeting progressed (which covered a wide-range of NASA-related programs), Dr. McErlean presented a dedicated Commercial Crew Program briefing.

A large portion of this section, unsurprisingly, focused on the LOC (Loss Of Crew) gap between what Dragon and Starliner are independently capable of providing v. what the CCtCap contracts require of them (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/05/nasa-evaluating-commercial-loss-crew-mishap/).

As previously reported by NASASpaceflight.com, the CCtCap contracts establish a minimum baseline requirement that Dragon and Starliner each meet a LOC criteria of 1 in 270 (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/04/commercial-crew-tight-achievable-timeline-2018/) – meaning for every 270 flights, only one would result in an LOC event.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208944.jpg)

Currently, there is a gap in what the data analysis shows both Starliner and Dragon (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=crew+dragon) are capable of providing and that 1 in 270 requirement.

While NASA has rightly not made the current LOC number for each vehicle public (as both providers are still working on this requirement), Kathy Lueders, NASA's CCP manager, stated earlier this year to the NASA Advisory Council that "I will tell you that we are having a hard time getting to 1 in 270. But we're not done yet."

...

However, after NASA set this requirement and signed the CCtCap contracts with SpaceX and Boeing, more stringent MMOD (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/mmod/) (Micro Meteoroid Orbiting Debris) protection requirements were imposed on everyone (NASA included).

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209142.png)

This new MMOD requirement has made it "challenging" to reach the 1 in 270 LOC benchmark.

At the NAC meeting in March, Ms. Lueders stated that SpaceX and Boeing were "still updating MMOD protection and a few other critical areas including looking at operational controls, and when we get through all that we'll be in a better place to talk about our final LOC projection."

At the ASAP meeting, Dr. McErlean reminded the panel that the LOC contract requirements were a recommendation of the ASAP and that the panel remains happy it was included because the requirement "appeared to drive systemic behavior by both providers ... in making their systems substantially safer than they might have been without such an incentive and [that both providers] have achieved considerable progress fr om their initial LOC estimates."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209143.webp)

However, Dr. McErlean noted that "the threshold values [are] acknowledged to be challenging, and both providers are still striving to meet that precise number."

From here, a discussion that NASA might have to accept the risk and/or that waivers might have to be processed if the LOC requirement can't be met took center stage.

According to the ASAP meeting minutes, Dr. McErlean said that "While these LOC numbers were known to be challenging, and both providers have been working toward meeting the challenge, it is conceivable that in both cases the number may not be met."

However, Dr. McErlean cautioned the ASAP and NASA about rushing to judgement on the current and whatever the final LOC number for each vehicle is.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209144.png)

"The ASAP is on record agreeing with the Program that one must be judicious in how one applies these statistical estimates.  In the case of LOC, the numbers themselves depend very heavily on the orbital debris model used to develop the risk to the system [as] orbital debris is a driving factor in determining the potential for LOC.

"The orbital debris models have been used and validated to some degree, but they are not perfect.

"One must be wary of being too pernicious in the application of a specific number and must look at whether the providers have expended the necessary efforts and engineering activity to make the systems as safe as they can and still perform the mission."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209145.png)

To that last point, Dr. McErlean reported that both providers indeed "expended the necessary efforts and engineering activity to make the systems as safe as they can."

Importantly, too, Dr. McErlean noted that there was no evidence that spending more money on closing the LOC gap for both providers "could [make] their systems considerably safer."

The ASAP at large concurred with this finding and noted their pleasure at the progress made in closing the LOC gap for both Dragon and Starliner.

However, the panel did discuss the possible necessity "for NASA to do a formal risk acceptance of the variance from the requirement."

To this point, the ASAP discussed a recommendation of how NASA would do this – including the need for a formal and "complete presentation of the alternatives and the consequences" as well as "the rationale for the path that [is] ultimately chosen" for risk acceptance before any such rationale is signed off on by the appropriate authority.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/208943.jpg)
In this case, Mr. John Frost noted that that authority is likely "at the highest levels of NASA."

Importantly, though, the ASAP meeting wasn't just focused on the panel's concerns.  Considerable time was dedicated to a discussion and review of the progress both providers continue to make and wh ere each provider is in terms of schedule milestones for their first uncrewed demo flights.

Presently, Boeing is moving through software release for Starliner, and the Starliner (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Starliner) STA (Structural Test Article) is progressing through its test regime.

Meanwhile, the first Starliner spacecraft – the one that will fly the OFT mission next year – has undergone initial power activation, and the builds for Starliner spacecrafts two and three are progressing inside Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/09/cst-100-starliner-boeing-processing-facility-kennedy/).

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/209146.png)

For SpaceX, Dragon has completed its first pressurized space suit test (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/01/starliner-space-suit-boeing-blue-revealed/) and final assembly of the craft for SpX Demo-1 has begun – all while SLC-39A at Kennedy (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/39A/) is undergoing final acceptance testing ahead of the upcoming installation of the Crew Access Arm onto the pad's Fix Service Structure tower.

Moreover, the new, full-thrust (Block 5) Merlin 1D engines (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/spacex-new-spaceflight-successful-core-reuse/) are in developmental hot fire testing at McGregor, and NASA has received the detailed CDR (Critical Design Review) of the engine for crew mission certification.

Finally, the ASAP noted that "Both providers have completed parachute testing for landings and are moving into production and qualification."

Moreover, SpaceX and Boeing have implemented solutions to several issues flagged by NASA toward the end of last year, and very few new issues have been identified to date.

(Images: NASA, L2 Shuttle and L2 artist Nathan Koga – The full gallery of Nathan's (SpaceX Dragon to MCT, SLS, Commercial Crew and more) L2 images can be *found here (https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38476.0)*)

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Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg) Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 21 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/883011584917999616)

Dragon, Orion and Starliner on stage. I'd love a speech from those three.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/164487.jpg)

ЦитироватьNASA's Commercial Crew Program Target Flight Dates
Posted on July 20, 2017 at 7:00 am (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/07/20/nasas-commercial-crew-program-target-flight-dates/) by Stephanie Martin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/samarti9/).

The next generation of American spacecraft and rockets that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station are nearing the final stages of development and evaluation. NASA's Commercial Crew Program will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements. To meet NASA's requirements, the commercial providers must demonstrate that their systems are ready to begin regular flights to the space station. Two of those demonstrations are uncrewed flight tests, known as Orbital Flight Test for Boeing, and Demonstration Mission 1 for SpaceX. After the uncrewed flight tests, both companies will execute a flight test with crew prior to being certified by NASA for crew rotation mission. The following schedule reflects the most recent publicly-releasable dates for both providers.

Targeted Test Flight Dates:
 Boeing Orbital Flight Test: June 2018
 Boeing Crew Flight Test: August 2018
 SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1: February 2018
 SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): June 2018

This entry was posted in Boeing (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/boeing/), CCtCap (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/cctcap/), Commercial Spaceflight (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/commercial-spaceflight/), International Space Station (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/international-space-station/), Kennedy Space Center (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/kennedy-space-center-2/), SpaceX (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/spacex/) and tagged Boeing Commercial Crew (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/tag/boeing-commercial-crew/), Commercial Crew (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/tag/commercial-crew/), SpaceX (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/tag/spacex-2/) on July 20, 2017 (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/07/20/nasas-commercial-crew-program-target-flight-dates/) by Stephanie Martin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/samarti9/).

ЦитироватьRecovery and Rescue Teams Practice with Full-Size Crew Dragon Trainer
Posted on July 20, 2017 at 12:00 pm (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/07/20/recovery-and-rescue-teams-practice-with-full-size-crew-dragon-trainer/) by Amanda Griffin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/aagriffi/).

SpaceX, NASA and Air Force personnel who will help astronauts out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft returning fr om a mission to the International Space Station have begun practicing for that using a full-size model of the spacecraft. In certain unusual recovery situations, SpaceX may need to work with the U.S. Air Force to send parajumpers to recover astronauts from the capsule in the water. Recently, the Recovery Trainer was lowered into the Indian River Lagoon near NASA's Kennedy Space Center so Air Force pararescue and others could learn techniques for getting aboard the spacecraft and rescuing the astronauts.

Спойлер

Such rescue practice is typical of all human missions because it gives astronauts and support teams many opportunities to practice and refine the critical steps in safely rescuing the crew in a contingency situation. A number of procedures will be developed and then practiced over time to deal with recoveries in many different conditions.

SpaceX is developing the Crew Dragon in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to carry astronauts to the International Space Station. The Recovery Trainer was built by SpaceX and subsequently modified by Kennedy's Prototype Lab to SpaceX specifications. The same dimensions as the outside mold line of a Crew Dragon, it has indicators wh ere thrusters will be and other markings on the exterior. Inside, the crew area matches that of the operational spacecraft and includes an instrument panel.

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(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130596.jpg) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/wp-content/uploads/sites/230/2017/07/RecoveryTrainer.jpg)
Photo Credit: SpaceX

This entry was posted in Commercial Spaceflight (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/commercial-spaceflight/), NASA (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/nasa/), SpaceX (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/category/spacex/) and tagged Commercial Crew Program (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/tag/commercial-crew-program/), Crew Dragon (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/tag/crew-dragon/) on July 20, 2017 (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/07/20/recovery-and-rescue-teams-practice-with-full-size-crew-dragon-trainer/) by Amanda Griffin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/aagriffi/).

ЦитироватьNASA and companies express growing confidence in commercial crew schedules
by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — July 21, 2017

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/155645.jpg)
NASA, SpaceX and Boeing expect test flights of their Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner vehicles to take place next year after extensive delays. Credit: SpaceX artist's concept and Boeing

WASHINGTON — Both NASA and the two companies developing commercial crew vehicles say those efforts remain on schedule for test flights that are in some cases less than a year away.

NASA published July 20 what it called "the most recent publicly-releasable dates" of the test flights of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicles. Each company, under terms of Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts awarded in September 2014, are required to first fly an uncrewed test flight of their spacecraft, followed by one with astronauts on board.

The latest SpaceX schedule calls for an uncrewed test flight in February 2018, followed by a crewed test flight in June 2018. Boeing's schedule anticipates an uncrewed test flight in June 2018 and a crewed test flight in August 2018.

Спойлер

Those scheduled have slipped considerably fr om the original CCtCap announcement. At that time, NASA expected both vehicles to have completed their test flights and be certified for regular crew transportation missions to the International Space Station by the end of 2017. Both companies have suffered technical problems that have pushed back those flights, in some cases by more than a year.

A leading NASA official, though, sounded more confident about the companies' efforts towards those 2018 test flights. "Commercial crew is making great progress," said Kirk Shireman, ISS program manager, in a July 18 speech at the ISS Research and Development Conference here.

"By the next ISS R&D Conference, I expect to have flown the first Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon flight," he said. The 2018 conference is scheduled for late July in San Francisco.

In an on-stage interview with Shireman at the conference July 19, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk also expressed confidence his company's schedule. "Our primary focus will be on, particularly over the next year or so, our Dragon 2 spacecraft," he said, using the company's name for what NASA calls Crew Dragon.

"What's our primary focus? Making sure we stay on track for getting crew to station, as we promised NASA, around the middle of next year," he said. "That's going to be real exciting."

Musk acknowledged that developing the Crew Dragon spacecraft has been "way more difficult" than the cargo version of Dragon currently flying. "As soon as people enter the picture, it's really a giant step up in making sure things go right," he said. "The oversight from NASA is much tougher."

"We have some debates going into next year about some of the technical details," he said of SpaceX's relationship with NASA. However, he later described those debates as minor "technical bones of contention" on unspecified "esoteric" issues.

Boeing is also confident in its ability to maintain its schedule. "We are in the middle of a very aggressive test program," said Chris Ferguson, director of Starliner crew and mission systems at Boeing, during a July 20 panel session at the conference. Prior to the flight tests, he said, is a pad abort test planned for early 2018 at White Sands, New Mexico, as well as ongoing parachute and drop tests.

Ferguson, in his presentation, said the flight test program would run from June through December of 2018, followed by NASA certification, and in an interview earlier in the day said those launches would take place in the "latter part of next year." He clarified, though, that the schedule of June and August test flights remains in place.

"Our schedule hasn't changed from June," he said in the interview. "That said, we've got challenges we've got to deal with and we'll let the schedule fall out wh ere it will."

Boeing may offer more clarity about that test flight schedule in the near future. Ferguson said that United Launch Alliance, who will launch the CST-100 on Atlas 5 rockets, requires a "non-handshake type of agreement" about 12 months before launch. "If there's going to be movement, of which there's been nothing planned yet, it's going have to occur soon just to keep it consistent with what ULA wants," he said.

Another upcoming milestone is the selection of a NASA astronaut to fly on the crewed flight test along with a Boeing test pilot. "Traditionally it's been about [launch] minus 12 months," he said of prior crew selections. "I think what they would like to do is have some schedule assurance before they go ahead and assign crews. Once they feel comfortable that they're about 12 months out from a crewed flight launch, I think you can see an assignment come out."

Ferguson said the first operational, or post-certification mission (PCM) for the CST-100 could fly as soon as next December, but that schedule is dependent on both the vehicle's development as well as ISS needs. "I think the next crewed mission to be assigned would launch in May of 2019," he said. "We're keeping a close eye on that. NASA has a void they'd like to fill there. We'd like to be there to fill it for them."

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Цитироватьsilentpom пишет:
интересна, а какая теперь будет САС?

Цитироватьsilentpom пишет:
да, но тогда надобность в супердрако и такой схеме САС выглядит странно

Цитировать (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg) Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 52 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/896086083204595712)

FEATURE ARTICLE: SpaceX and Boeing in home stretch for Commercial Crew readiness - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/08/spacex-boeing-home-stretch-commercial-crew-readiness/ ... (https://t.co/5tUDOHrc7H) - by @CwG_NSF (https://twitter.com/CwG_NSF) Renders @kogavfx (https://twitter.com/kogavfx)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/165549.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/165568.jpg)

Цитировать

SpaceX and Boeing in home stretch for Commercial Crew readiness (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/08/spacex-boeing-home-stretch-commercial-crew-readiness/)

ЦитироватьNASA's Commercial Crew Program Target Test Flight Dates
Posted on October 5, 2017 at 4:20 pm (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/10/05/nasas-commercial-crew-program-target-test-flight-dates/) by Anna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/aheiney/).
          
The next generation of American spacecraft and rockets that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station are nearing the final stages of development and evaluation. NASA's Commercial Crew Program will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements. To meet NASA's requirements, the commercial providers must demonstrate that their systems are ready to begin regular flights to the space station. Two of those demonstrations are uncrewed flight tests, known as Orbital Flight Test for Boeing, and Demonstration Mission 1 for SpaceX. After the uncrewed flight tests, both companies will execute a flight test with crew prior to being certified by NASA for crew rotation missions. The following schedule reflects the most recent publicly releasable dates for both providers.

Targeted Test Flight Dates:
 Boeing Orbital Flight Test: August 2018
 Boeing Crew Flight Test: November 2018
 SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1: April 2018
 SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): August 2018

ЦитироватьIt is almost as if NASA doesn't want those vehicles to ever fly. Every few months NASA comes up with yet another new set of requirements for some previously unlisted feature Very disappointing. And I can imagine extremely frustrating for both Boeing and SpaceX.

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
Бгг...
Товарищи пишут, что NASA специально тормозит программу, выдумывая всё новые и 

ЦитироватьNASA ASAP notes:

Kathy Leuders and team doing great job

Schedule: SpaceX April 2018 uncrewed, August 2018 crewed.  Boeing August 2018 uncrewed, November 2018 crewed.

MMOD - something about purposely putting some defects on a cargo Dragon so they can inspect on return and refine the MMOD models???

Both providers still doing parachute testing.  SpaceX has several more tests to help reduce uncertainty in the models.  Boeing added six tests (not all drop tests?  something about a high mach test?) for parachutes.  Boeing found issue with shock of parachute deployment during structural testing, being worked.

NASA working on launch commit criteria, including weather/sea states for abort scenarios.  Also looking at on-orbit MMOD inspections.

Approval of the vehicles will occur at Associate Administrator or higher level.

SpaceX continues development of the COPV 2.0.  Some members of the panel visited SpaceX last month to discuss.  NASA is still doing lots of analysis on COPV physics, something about NASA working on some alternative path for the COPVs.

The Merlin turbine disc improvements have been implemented and are in the middle of testing.  One of the panel members with propulsion experience had a chance to go over it with SpaceX.  Referred to it as a bladed disc (blisc) in a single forging.  It's a complex, state of the art forging.

Boeing making progress on RD-180 certification, working through several unspecified design changes.

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
На nasaspaceflight.com пишут что опять сроки поплыли

ISS schedule:

Boeing Orbital Flight Test (uncrewed): NET August 2018
Boeing Crew Flight Test (crewed): Q1 2019
SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1 (uncrewed): second half of 2018
SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): early 2019

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1 (uncrewed): second half of 2018
SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): early 2019

ЦитироватьИскандер пишет:
У SpaceX проблемы? Мерлин?

ЦитироватьAlex_II пишет:

ЦитироватьИскандер пишет:
У SpaceX проблемы? Мерлин?

А причем тогда Боинг? Скорее это у НАСА возникла мысль сертифицировать чего-нибудь еще дополнительно - поскольку срок переносится у обоих кораблей...

ЦитироватьOutside study blames NASA's bureaucracy and contracting practices for delays 

ЦитироватьThe planning documents also show the potential for Commercial Crew flights in April and May 2019 (one each for SpaceX and Boeing) with only two astronauts on board each flight.  Those missions would depend on the vehicles being certified in time.

ЦитироватьNASA's Commercial Crew Program Target Test Flight Dates
Anna Heiney
Posted on January 11, 2018
                   
The next generation of American spacecraft and rockets that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station are nearing the final stages of development and evaluation. NASA's Commercial Crew Program will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements. To meet NASA's requirements, the commercial providers must demonstrate that their systems are ready to begin regular flights to the space station. Two of those demonstrations are uncrewed flight tests, known as Orbital Flight Test for Boeing, and Demonstration Mission 1 for SpaceX. After the uncrewed flight tests, both companies will execute a flight test with crew prior to being certified by NASA for crew rotation missions. The following schedule reflects the most recent publicly releasable dates for both providers.

Targeted Test Flight Dates:
 Boeing Orbital Flight Test (uncrewed): August 2018
 Boeing Crew Flight Test (crewed): November 2018
 SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1 (uncrewed): August 2018
 SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed): December 2018

ЦитироватьTASS пишет:
Fox: NASA отложило пилотируемые полеты кораблей SpaceX и Boeing до весны 2019 года
Подробнее на ТАСС: http://tass.ru/kosmos/4870845

ЦитироватьQuoоndo пишет:
Кстати как раз постепенно стала вылезать инфа связанная с событиями лета 2016 г когда Фалькон на столе взорвался.

ЦитироватьQuoоndo пишет:
 Дрэгон похоже уходит за 2020 год.

ЦитироватьQuoоndo пишет:
Очередной антирекород, 9 лет без ПК.

ЦитироватьШамс пишет:
Quoоndo (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/user/49459/) , МКС будут топить в 2024 году.

ЦитироватьThe prime reason for all of this that NASA does NOT follow the COTS model for CCP. In stead of setting high-level requirements only, as under COTS, NASA is deeply involved in every detail-requirement as well.
Basically, under CCP NASA is much more acting like how they run things on Orion and SLS.

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
В общем, в отличии от программы грузовых кораблей, в программе пилотируемых, NASA подробно вникает в каждую делать в каждый винтик.

Цитировать

ЦитироватьQuoоndo пишет:
Очередной антирекород, 9 лет без ПК.

СтарлайнерВы не заметили?

ЦитироватьQuoоndo пишет:
Кстати как раз постепенно стала вылезать инфа связанная с событиями лета 2016 г когда Фалькон на столе взорвался.

ЦитироватьНу-и-ну пишет:
И это правильно. Один Драгон бумкнул, второй - долетел на одной сопле. Для груза это нормально, для людей - нет.

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:
За Quoоndo так смешно смотреть, как он писается кипятком при любом намеке на переносы и несет драму типа "НАСА и тогда было в шоке".

НАСА с самого начала закладывалась на то, что у начинающих частников будут аварии, почитай комментарии Герста к программе CRS и брифам агенства после случившегося.
В "шоке" никто не был даже когда одна за другой произошли три аварии с грузовыми КК, включая Прогресс.
На станции был запас всего небоходимого, и ПН на HTV оперативно перекомпоновали с учетом случившегося.

ЦитироватьQuoоndo пишет:
Не писаю. Всеми руками за научно-технические прогресс.

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:

NASA готовит батут, если не получится запустить в 2018 году

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29262.jpg)Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 1h ago (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/961670055124750338)

Gerst said NASA's Soyuz access to ISS ends in Oct/Nov 2019. As for contingency planning if comm'l crew isn't ready by then, he said one option would be to use their test flights in a more operational role, but still brainstorming other options. #FAACST2018 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/FAACST2018?src=hash)

ЦитироватьNASA's Continued Focus on Returning U.S. Human Spaceflight Launches

Stephanie Martin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/samarti9/)
Posted Feb 8, 2018 at 9:47 pm

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130603.jpg)

NASA's Commercial Crew Program and private industry partners, Boeing and SpaceX, continue to develop the systems that will return human spaceflight to the United States. Both commercial partners are undertaking considerable amounts of testing in 2018 (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-commercial-crew-program-mission-in-sight-for-2018) to prove space system designs and the ability to meet NASA's mission and safety requirement for regular crew flights to the International Space Station.

"The work Boeing and SpaceX are doing is incredible. They are manufacturing spaceflight hardware, performing really complicated testing and proving their systems to make sure we get it right." said Kathy Lueders, program manager NASA Commercial Crew Program. "Getting it right is the most important thing."

Спойлер

Both Boeing and SpaceX plan to fly test missions without crew to the space station prior to test flights with a crew onboard this year. After each company's test flights, NASA will work to certify the systems and begin post-certification crew rotation missions. The current flight schedules for commercial crew systems provide about six months of margin to begin regular, post-certification crew rotation missions to the International Space Station before contracted flights on Soyuz flights end in fall 2019.

As part of the agency's normal contingency planning, NASA is exploring multiple scenarios as the agency protects for potential schedule adjustments to ensure continued U.S. access to the space station. One option under consideration would extend the duration of upcoming flight tests with crew targeted for the end of 2018 on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. The flights could be extended longer than the current two weeks planned for test flights, and likely less than a six-month full-duration mission. The agency also is assessing whether there is a need to add another NASA crew member on the flight tests.

This would not the first time NASA has expanded the scope of test flights. NASA had SpaceX carry cargo on its commercial demonstration flight to the International Space Station in 2012, which was not part of the original agreement. This decision allowed NASA to ensure the crew aboard the space station had the equipment, food and other supplies needed on the station after the end of the agency's Space Shuttle Program.

As with all contingency plans, the options will receive a thorough review by the agency, including safety and engineering reviews. NASA will make a decision on these options within the next few months to begin training crews.

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ЦитироватьNASA может попросить Россию о дополнительных местах на "Союзах" из-за задержки с сертификацией американских кораблей - источник
12.07.2018 12:42:28

Москва. 12 июля. ИНТЕРФАКС-АВН - США могут не успеть сертифицировать свои пилотируемые корабли до августа 2020 года, тогда NASA могут потребоваться дополнительные места на российских "Союзах".

Как следует из отчета Счетной палаты США, дополнительные задержки с сертификацией американских кораблей могут привести к утрате на некоторое время доступа астронавтов на МКС, поскольку "NASA законтрактовала места на российских кораблях "Союз" только до ноября 2019 года".

"Самые ранние и поздние возможные сроки сертификации в подготовленном NASA в апреле 2018 года анализе рисков показывают, что, возможно, ни один подрядчик не будет готов до августа 2020 года. Таким образом, может образоваться разрыв в доступе американских астронавтов на МКС, как минимум, на 9 месяцев", - говорится в отчете.

Однако источник "Интерфакса" в РКК "Энергия" пояснил, что в связи с продлением длительности полета российских кораблей "Союз", последний астронавт на законтрактованном NASA через Boeing месте на российском корабле возвратится на Землю не в ноябре 2019 года как планировалось ранее, а в январе 2020 года.

"Таким образом, доступ на МКС для американской стороны и ее партнеров может быть временно утрачен не на 9, а на 7 месяцев", - сказал он.

Источник не исключил, что NASA может обратиться к Роскосмосу за дополнительными местами для своих астронавтов на российских "Союзах".

"Если американская сторона не успеет к августу 2020 года сертифицировать свои пилотируемые корабли, то не исключено, что им могут потребоваться дополнительные места на российских пилотируемых кораблях "Союз". Однако физически есть возможность предоставить на каждом российском корабле лишь по одному месту, которое предполагается использовать для доставки туристов. Два других места зарезервированы под российский экипаж МКС", - сказал источник.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
 http://tass.ru/kosmos/5367805

ЦитироватьNASA может лишиться возможности доставлять на МКС своих астронавтов в конце 2019 года
12 июля, 14:17 UTC+3
 У ведомства отсутствует план обеспечения беспрерывного доступа на станцию
 
ВАШИНГТОН, 12 июля. /Корр. ТАСС Александр Пахомов/. У американского космического ведомства - NASA - нет плана обеспечения беспрерывного доступа на Международную космическую станцию (МКС).
Это отметили в обнародованном в среду докладе аудиторы главного контрольно-ревизионного органа Конгресса США - Управления по подотчетности правительства.
По их словам, две частные компании - Boeing и SpaceX - могут не успеть получить разрешение на использование создаваемых ими кораблей для пилотируемых полетов на МКС к ноябрю 2019 года, когда у NASA истечет срок контракта с "Роскосмосом" на доставку на станцию и возвращение оттуда астронавтов на борту российских "Союзов". "Согласно проведенному нами анализу, не исключается возможность того, что ни одна из этих компаний не будет готова [предоставить свой корабль для безопасного полета] до августа 2020 года, и в таком случае у NASA не будет доступа на станцию в течение по меньшей мере 9 месяцев", - указали аудиторы.
NASA заключило с Boeing и SpaceX контракты на разработку пилотируемых кораблей еще в 2014 году, заплатив им $4,2 млрд и $2,6 млрд, соответственно. "Они достигли прогресса в конструкторских работах и создании компонентов модулей, но обе продолжают откладывать сроки сертификации своих пилотируемых транспортных систем", - говорится в докладе.
Изначально SpaceX должна была представить корабль для сертификации во втором квартале прошлого года, а Boeing - в третьем. Однако после ряда срывов графика работ обе компании теперь планируют провести испытательные полеты своих модулей без экипажей лишь в августе-сентябре 2018 года. С экипажем Boeing намеревается отправить корабль на орбиту в ноябре-декабре этого года, а SpaceX - в декабре 2018 года - январе 2019 года. Поэтому с учетом новых возможных задержек сертификация обоих кораблей была перенесена экспертами NASA на январь-февраль 2019 года.
Аудиторы же считают, что реальнее говорить о декабре 2019 года для модуля Boeing и январе 2020 года для корабля SpaceX. Это в лучшем случае. "Поэтому NASA нужно разработать запасной план действий, предусматривающий возможность доставки астронавтов на МКС после ноября 2019 года", - подчеркивается в докладе.

 Скрытый текст История вопроса

После прекращения полетов шаттлов в 2011 году у NASA остался только один вариант для доставки на МКС и возвращения оттуда своих астронавтов - с помощью российских "Союзов". В феврале прошлого года американское космическое ведомство заключило соглашение с Boeing, позволяющее получить дополнительно пять мест на "Союзах" в 2017-2019 годах. Общая стоимость контракта составила $373,5 млн. Boeing приобрела эти места у РКК "Энергия" в рамках урегулирования судебной тяжбы по поводу совместного проекта "Морской старт".
И последнее место, как сейчас предполагается, будет использовано в ноябре 2019 года для возвращения американского астронавта со станции.
По словам аудиторов, NASA "уже задумалось над тем, как быть в том случае, если сертификация кораблей Boeing и SpaceX будет перенесена на 2020 год". В частности, рассматривается идея попробовать договориться с "Роскосмосом" о возвращении астронавта на "Союзе" не в ноябре 2019 года, а в январе 2020 года, что "даст два дополнительных месяца для начала полетов на коммерческих пилотируемых кораблях".
"На настоящий момент, как объяснили официальные лица NASA, возможность закупки дополнительных мест на "Союзах" представляется маловероятной, так как процесс строительства корабля и подписания соответствующего контракта обычно занимает три года - это означает, что эти места могут появиться не ранее 2021 года", - отметили аудиторы.

.

ЦитироватьSalo пишет:
Первоисточник https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/693035.pdf

Цитировать"На настоящий момент, как объяснили официальные лица NASA, возможность закупки дополнительных мест на "Союзах" представляется маловероятной, так как процесс строительства корабля и подписания соответствующего контракта обычно занимает три года - это означает, что эти места могут появиться не ранее 2021 года", - отметили аудиторы

ЦитироватьVice President Mike Pence will visit NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral next month to announce the first astronaut crews under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, according to sources familiar with the matter.

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
3 августа лично вице-президент Пенс приедет и объявит состав экипажей для первого Драгона и Старлайнера

ЦитироватьVice President Mike Pence will visit NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral next month to announce the first astronaut crews under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67676.jpg)Michael Sheetz‏Подлинная учетная запись @thesheetztweetz (https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz) 35 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1021833993002659841)

The event August 3 announcing updates to NASA's @Commercial_Crew (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew) program moved to Johnson Space Center from Kennedy Space Center, a KSC source tells me. It is unclear if @VP (https://twitter.com/VP) Pence will still attend.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/166384.jpg)

ЦитироватьJuly 25, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-111

NASA to Name Astronauts Assigned to First Boeing, SpaceX Flights


(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207528.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/2017.1.3_ccp_4_ss.jpg)

NASA will announce on Friday, Aug. 3, the astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon, and begin a new era in American spaceflight. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will preside over the event, which will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency's website (https://www.nasa.gov/live).
NASA will announce the crew assignments for the crew flight tests and the first post-certification mission for both Boeing and SpaceX. NASA partnered with Boeing and SpaceX to develop the Starliner spacecraft to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and the Crew Dragon launching atop the Falcon 9 rocket, respectively.
U.S. media are invited to attend the event at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and, afterward, speak with the astronauts about their assignments. Media wishing to attend must contact Johnson's newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Aug. 1.
Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana will join Bridenstine and representatives from Boeing and SpaceX to introduce the crews.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program (https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew) is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems designed to carry crews safely to and from low-Earth orbit. The Starliner and Crew Dragon will launch American astronauts on American-made spacecraft from American soil to the International Space Station (https://www.nasa.gov/station) for the first time since NASA retired its Space Shuttle Program in 2011.
Commercial transportation to and from the space station will enable expanded station use, additional research time and broader opportunities of discovery aboard the orbiting laboratory. The station is critical for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, and necessary for a sustainable presence on the Moon and missions deeper into the solar system, including Mars.

ЦитироватьASAP chair Patricia Sanders: should be possible now to project dates for uncrewed test flights of commercial crew vehicles. Firm dates for crewed test flights still uncertain.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186343.jpg)Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/1024005279388786694)

#NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash)'s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) reviews #SpaceX (https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpaceX?src=hash)'s positive progress (#CrewDragon (https://twitter.com/hashtag/CrewDragon?src=hash)) &critical #Boeing (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Boeing?src=hash) failure (#Starliner (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starliner?src=hash)) before 1st #CommercialCrew (https://twitter.com/hashtag/CommercialCrew?src=hash) flights, warns that Boeing's flight schedule is not well understood & in flux. ((https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125427.png): @kogavfx (https://twitter.com/kogavfx))

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/07/asap-boeing-failure-positive-spacex-crew-announcement/ ... (https://t.co/L3EHx0QlUH)

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ЦитироватьSafety panel warns schedule for commercial crew test flights still uncertain
by Jeff Foust (https://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — July 30, 2018

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/191520.jpg)
A safety panel said that while a "realistic timeframe" for uncrewed test flights of the Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner vehicles can now be projected, schedules for later crewed test flights are still uncertain. Credit: SpaceX artist's concept and Boeing

WASHINGTON — As NASA prepares to announce the astronauts who will fly the first commercial crew missions, an independent safety board is cautioning that it is still too soon to set dates for those flights.

NASA said in a statement last week that it will name the astronauts who will fly the crewed demo flights by Boeing and SpaceX during an event Aug. 3 at the Johnson Space Center. The event will also announce the crews for the first post-certification missions by each company, which will mark the start of routine transportation of astronauts to and fr om the station by Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

Спойлер

The NASA statement did not explicitly state if the agency will also upd ate the schedule for those flights. The latest public schedules, released by NASA early this year, call for uncrewed test flights by both companies in August, followed by crewed test flights by Boeing in November and SpaceX in December. However, delays of at least several months are widely expected for both companies' test flights.

Members of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) appeared to caution against flying at least the crewed demonstration flights in the near future. "We see both continued progress and a large volume of work ahead" for the commercial crew program, said Patricia Sanders, chair of ASAP, at a July 26 meeting at NASA Headquarters. "It should be possible to project a realistic timeframe for at least the uncrewed test flights."

However, she said that did not extend to the later crewed flights. "Depending on the results of the uncrewed flights as well as the resolution of some outstanding technical issues, firm dates for the crewed flight tests are still uncertain," she said.

[свернуть]

One of the outstanding technical issues is what Boeing called an "anomaly" during a recent hot-fire test of the abort engine system that will be used by Starliner. That anomaly, announced by the company earlier this month (https://spacenews.com/boeings-starliner-launch-abort-engine-suffers-problem-during-testing/), is expected to delay a pad abort test of the vehicle as well as its upcoming demonstration flights, but the company has not said by how much.

Спойлер

"There was an anomaly on that test that we need to better understand in terms of its potential impact on the design and the operations and the schedule," said ASAP member George Nield at the meeting. "Boeing has asked for some additional time to step back and understand that a little bit better, so we can expect some uncertainty in the near-term schedules."

[свернуть]

SpaceX and NASA are still working two issues with its Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 launch vehicle. One is the redesign of composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) used to store helium in the propellant tanks on the Falcon 9. SpaceX has redesigned the COPV following an accident nearly two years ago that destroyed a Falcon 9 and its satellite payload prior to a static-fire test.

Спойлер

"There's still a lot of work to do. They jury's still out on this," said ASAP member David West on the COPV redesign. "We look forward to seeing what the result of all this work will mean in terms of a final characterization of the risk and whether or not that risk will be acceptable." If that risk is not acceptable, he added, further risk mitigation measures, which he didn't specify, may be needed.

SpaceX has also been addressing an issue with the Falcon 9's Merlin 1D engine. Examination of some of the first engines found anomalies that were "potentially dangerous, and certainly not desirable," said ASAP member Donald McErlean. SpaceX and NASA have worked on a test plan to address the problem.

SpaceX and NASA, he said, have come up "two principal courses of action in the short term" to correct the problem and two others that would require more modifications to the engine. "The risk is low enough with the two short-term modifications to use those for powering the uncrewed test," he said, "and the decision for powering the crewed test would come later." He didn't elaborate on those courses of action, but said that the panel was "optimistic those courses of action will result in a satisfactory conclusion."

Despite the technical issues that could delay those test flights, ASAP members said they saw no evidence of safety being jeopardized. "The ASAP has not seen any evidence of negative safety impacts based on schedule pressure," Nield said. "I think people are looking for that. They're aware of the danger there."

ASAP members praised SpaceX in particular for its attention to safety issues, such as development of software tools for tracking development and production issues. "Their tool se t, if used comprehensively and broadly across their culture, are actually very encouraging to us as something that could evolve into an admirable advantage," ASAP member Susan Helms said. "It looks like things are on a good path."

"We're at the point where, after many years of those demo flights being distantly in the future, we're reaching the point wh ere the program is rapidly approaching the launch of those demos," said ASAP member Sandy Magnus. "There's a lot yet to accomplish."

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000149454500/c2e974df2f92ce57b2c8db329f5da805_bigger.png)Emre Kelly‏Подлинная учетная запись @EmreKelly (https://twitter.com/EmreKelly) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/1024756863332704261)

Boeing update on Starliner anomaly: Happened during simulated low-altitude abort burn. All four engines were nominal until shutdown 1.5 seconds later; several valves failed to close, causing the leak. Boeing's Mulholland confident confident in corrective actions.

4 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/1024757341307199496)

Boeing's Mulholland with latest on Starliner mission timeline:

– Uncrewed flight now planned for late 2018 or early 2019

– Crewed flight is now expected mid-2019

ЦитироватьBoeing delays crew capsule test flights after abort engine problem
August 1, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144771.jpg)
The upper and lower domes of the CST-100 Starliner which will carry the vehicle's first crew into orbit were mated June 19 inside Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This vehicle is known as Spacecraft 2 in Boeing's fleet. Credit: Boeing

Boeing has reshuffled a sequence of test flights planned for the company's CST-100 Starliner capsule after stuck valves inside a test version of the ship's service module caused a fuel spill in June, delaying the commercial spacecraft's first unpiloted orbital demo mission until late this year or early 2019, and moving back the first crew launch to mid-2019, a company official said Wednesday.

The upd ated schedule announced Wednesday also calls for a pad abort test next spring in New Mexico to test the spaceship's ability to escape a catastrophic launch vehicle failure and save its crew.

Спойлер

Boeing has a $4.2 billion contract with NASA to develop the reusable crew capsule, which will launch aboard United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets fr om Cape Canaveral, dock with the International Space Station for stays of up seven months, and return to Earth for landings in the Western United States with the aid of parachutes and airbags.

NASA has also partnered with SpaceX, which is developing the Crew Dragon spacecraft for launch on the company's own Falcon 9 rockets.

The two commercial crew contractors will end NASA's sole reliance on Russian Soyuz vehicles to ferry astronauts to and fr om the space station.

John Mulholland, Boeing's vice president and program manager for the CST-100 Starliner program, told reporters Monday that the propellant leak on a test stand at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico was caused by several faulty valves inside the abort propulsion system on a service module testbed.

"That test was designed to verify all of the service module propulsion capabilities, and those include the abort, the on-orbit and the de-orbit propulsion events," Mulholland said in a media roundtable. "It was a robust test program designed to screen out any potential design weaknesses."

The test anomaly, first reported last week by Ars Technica, occurred as engineers test-fired four abort engines at the base of the service module. The CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will fly with a reusable crew module, which comes back to Earth with passengers on-board, and a disposable service module housing the ship's primary propulsion system, solar panels and radiators.

Boeing built a flight-like service module for hotfire testing at White Sands, before managers planned the CST-100 Starliner's pad abort test this summer.

"The initial test that we were performing on that (service module) test article was a low-altitude abort burn," Mulholland said. "That test is designed to simulate a pad abort or a low-altitude abort. In that, we fire the four launch abort engines on the bottom of the spacecraft that will provide the propulsion capability that we need to get away from an impending launch vehicle failure."

Each CST-100 service module carries four launch abort engines, built by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The engines would only fire in flight in the event of a launch emergency, igniting with 40,000 pounds of thrust each for a few seconds to propel the capsule away from its rocket.

The four launch abort engines are joined by 48 smaller thrusters on the CST-100 service module, including a se t of 1,500-pound-thrust orbital maneuvering and attitude control engines used for pointing during a launch abort and for large orbital maneuvers, and pods of 100-pound reaction control thrusters, all manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne.

"During the start-up of that test, all engines responded nominally," Mulholland said. "At approximately one-and-a-half seconds, we issued shutdown commands to the engines, and several of the abort engine valves failed to fully close."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144862.jpg)
A launch abort engine for the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft during a test-firing in 2016. Credit: NASA

According to a report published by Aviation Week and Space Technology, four of eight valves regulating the flow of propellants into the launch abort engines were stuck open after the shutdown command.

"The result of that was leakage of hypergolic propellant, which was contained at the test site, and there was no damage to the test article, and no personnel injuries," Mulholland said.

The service module's rocket engines consume a hypergolic mixture of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, which combust upon contact with one another. During a real launch escape, the CST-100's launch abort engines would fire for around 4.5 seconds, guzzling huge quantities of propellant to push the capsule away from a failing booster.

The high-pressure flow of propellant into the abort engines requires the use of dedicated valves, Mulholland told Spaceflight Now in an interview last year. Each engine includes a fuel and oxidizer valve.

Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne previously completed a series of hotfire tests of individual CST-100 abort engines. In a 2016 press release, Aerojet Rocketdyne said the testing "confirmed the ability for the new valves to modulate propellant flow and control peak LAE (launch abort engine) thrust in the event of a launch abort."

Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne's president and CEO, said the 2016 statement that the valves "enabled the engine to demonstrate precise timing, peak thrust control and steady-state thrust necessary during a mission abort."

Mulholland said Wednesday that managers launched a joint investigation involving NASA and industry engineers to probe the June 2 test anomaly.

"We are confident that we identified the root cause and are implementing correcting actions now," he said, without elaborating on the investigation's findings.

"Our team is off fixing those problems, and the result of that test series is that we will have a better and safer spacecraft," Mulholland said.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144770.jpg)
The dual-engine Centaur upper stages for the CST-100 Starliner's crew flight test (left) and uncrewed orbital flight test (right) inside United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 factory in Decatur, Alabama. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Mulholland said the investigators identified several corrective actions, such as "a potential combination of operational changes and minor design changes that we believe will allow those valves to fully close with significant margin in all potential operational scenarios."

The propulsion problem caused Boeing to reschedule the pad abort test, during which a CST-100 spacecraft will fire off a launch mount at White Sands to simulate an escape from a launch pad emergency, from this summer to next spring, Mulholland said.

"If you looked at our original sequence prior to the service module hotfire test anomaly, we were going to perform a pad abort test first, followed by an uncrewed flight test and then the crew flight test," Mulholland said. "One of the things that is not required for the uncrewed flight test is the abort capability. The abort capability will not be enabled on the uncrewed flight test, so the optimal sequence then changed to performing the uncrewed flight test first, and then the pad abort test, which we will need to perform before the crew flight test."

The updated schedule outlined by Mulholland on Wednesday calls for the uncrewed test flight to launch on an Atlas 5 rocket at the end of this year or in early 2019 from Cape Canaveral. The CST-100 capsule will make an automated docking to the space station for a short stay, then return to Earth.

After the pad abort test in New Mexico, the crew flight test will be readied for takeoff in mid-2019 on another Atlas 5 flight from Florida's Space Coast, likely with two or three crew members on-board.

Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson, who commanded the last space shuttle mission in 2011 before retiring from NASA, will helm the crew test flight. One or two NASA astronauts will accompany Ferguson, and their identities will be revealed in a ceremony Friday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The space agency plans to announce Friday which astronauts will ride on the initial Boeing and SpaceX crew missions.

NASA and Boeing have agreed to potentially use the CST-100 Starliner's crewed test flight, which originally was supposed to launch with a Boeing test pilot and a NASA astronaut, to carry a passenger who would stay aboard the space station for a long-duration months-long stay. If NASA chooses to exercise that option, the extra crew member could help ensure the station has a U.S. astronaut on-board after the space agency's agreement with the Russian government for Soyuz crew seats expires.

The Russian space agency — Roscosmos — and NASA have agreed to extend the length of upcoming space station expeditions to more than six months. That will allow NASA's contract for astronauts seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to cover crew returns through at least January 2020, several months later than originally planned.

These measures are aimed at reducing the risk of a gap in U.S. crew access to the space station, a focus of a Government Accountability Office report released last month.

The GAO said a NASA schedule analysis suggested Boeing and SpaceX may not be certified for regular crew rotation missions to the station — a milestone achieved after CST-100 and Crew Dragon crew flight tests — until late 2019 or early 2020, and perhaps months later in a worst-case scenario.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144755.jpg)
The base heat shield for Spacecraft 1, the CST-100 capsule which will fly on the pad abort test, was installed on the spacecraft earlier this year at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Boeing

Boeing is building three flight-worthy CST-100 crew modules at its manufacturing site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, housed in a former space shuttle processing hangar.

Spacecraft 1, the first of the line, will be used on the pad abort test in New Mexico. Spacecraft 2, which is nearing completion, will soon be shipped cross-country to Boeing's test site in El Segundo, California, for a battery of tests to subject it to the extreme temperatures, vacuum conditions and acoustic environment it will encounter in flight.

Spacecraft 2 will return to Florida for the crew flight test, while Spacecraft 3 is scheduled to be completed at KSC later this year, when it will immediately proceed into launch preparations for the uncrewed orbital test flight.

According to Mulholland, the Atlas 5 rocket assigned to the CST-100's uncrewed test flight — known by the tail number AV-080 — is complete and ready for transport from ULA's factory in Decatur, Alabama, to Cape Canaveral. The launcher for the crew flight test is "very close to completing also," he said.

The Atlas 5 rocket configuration which will launch CST-100 crews will fly with two strap-on solid rocket boosters and a Centaur upper stage powered by two RL10 engines, not the single-engine Centaur stages flown on all Atlas 5 missions to date. ULA has finished around 90 percent of the qualification required to human-rate the Atlas 5, Mulholland said.

Boeing's previous target dates for the uncrewed and crew flight tests called for launches in August and November, respectively. Any realistic expectation to achieve that schedule had eroded months ago.

The schedule for SpaceX's Crew Dragon test flights is also expected to be delayed, but the company has not announced a new timeframe for the demo missions.

In a July 26 meeting, members of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel said technical concerns with both Boeing and SpaceX, and a series of certification reviews required by NASA, continue to create uncertainty in the commercial crew program's schedule.

"The providers have made sufficient headway that there is light at the end of the tunnel," said Patricia Sanders, chair of the safety advisory panel. "It should be possible to project a realistic timeframe for at least the uncrewed test flights."

"We're reaching the point wh ere the program is rapidly approaching the launch of those demos," said Sandy Magnus, an ASAP member and former astronaut. "The momentum of activities is going to continue to build, but there's a lot left to accomplish.

"Having the hardware ready to go is, of course, an important piece, but we still have to get through the certification, understand the risk posture ... The uncrewed demos are an important milestone, and it will be great, I think, for the community to see that, and a very good morale boost."

George Nield, a veteran aerospace engineer and former head of the Federal Aviation Administration's commercial space office, said NASA and contractor officials are on the lookout for the burdens of schedule pressure.

"It's important to point out that the ASAP has not seen any evidence of negative safety impacts based on schedule pressure," Nield said during the July 26 meeting. "I think people are looking for that. They're aware of the danger there."

Nield said the safety panel should "expect some uncertainty in the near-term schedule, particularly for the Boeing provider," as the company works through the launch abort engine anomaly.

When NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX their commercial crew contracts in late 2016, agency and contractor officials expected to have the new vehicles certified for regular crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station by the end of 2017.

But technical hurdles and several redesigns of the spacecraft have delayed Boeing and SpaceX's first unscrewed orbital test flights until later this year, at the earliest.

"These development programs are hard, especially for human spaceflight vehicles, wh ere you really work to drive in robustness, redundancy, and optimize mass and volume," Mulholland said Wednesday. "We laid out a very challenging and aggressive schedule, and we have had several slips in that plan based on the challenges that hit us in a number of these integrated tests, and through the design and development process.

"That said, our commitment hasn't wavered to make sure that we do everything that we laid out to do in our plan, which will ensure that when we fly we're going fly with the utmost safety and mission success," he said.

"Every time we lay out a schedule, we believe it's realistic," he said. "There certainly are potential risks in front of us. As we move through the remaining test program, there is always, by its nature, the risk of discovery."

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьNASA's last shuttle commander to helm test flight of Boeing crew capsule
August 2, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144782.jpg)
Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson is helped into his spacesuit ahead of emergency egress training at United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 launch pad at Cape Canaveral in June. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA's last space shuttle commander — former U.S. Navy fighter pilot Chris Ferguson — will fly Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crew capsule on its first piloted test mission to the International Space Station next year.

Now a Boeing employee, Ferguson will make his fourth trip into space after logging more than 40 days in orbit on three space shuttle missions. The Washington Post first reported Ferguson's assignment to the mission last week, and Boeing has confirmed he will fly on the CST-100 Starliner's first crew test flight scheduled for mid-2019.

Ferguson, 56, will likely be joined by two NASA astronauts on the mission. Their identities will be announced Friday in a ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, headquarters for agency's astronaut corps.

Спойлер

NASA is also expected to announce crews for the first flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft with astronauts on-board, plus which astronauts will fly on the first "post-certification" missions by both commercially-developed vehicles on operational crew rotation flights to the International Space Station.

Boeing and SpaceX are developing the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon spacecraft under multibillion-dollar contracts with NASA.

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, featuring a reusable crew module, will launch on United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets and return to landings in the Western United States with the aid of parachutes and airbags. SpaceX's Crew Dragon will launch on the company's own Falcon 9 boosters, and splash down in the ocean under parachutes at the end of each mission.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143749.jpg)
Chris Ferguson aboard the shuttle Atlantis' flight deck during the STS-135 mission in July 2011. Credit: NASA

"We are really excited that on Friday we'll be out in Houston for the upcoming astronaut announcement," said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner.

Ferguson flew F-14 Tomcat airplanes off aircraft carriers in the Navy, and graduated fr om the service's Top Gun school for fighter pilots before his selection as a NASA astronaut in 1998.

He piloted the STS-115 mission by the shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station in September 2006, then commanded two more spaceflights — aboard the shuttle Endeavour in November 2008 on the STS-126 mission, and the final flight of the storied 30-year program aboard Atlantis's STS-135 mission in July 2011.

Ferguson retired from the space agency several months after guiding Atlantis back to Earth on its last flight.

"On the last day (of Atlantis's STS-135 mission), I tried to make it a point to say goodbye to every shift (in mission control) because I knew when they left the control center it was never going to be the same for them, so we tried to make it special for them," Ferguson said in a 2016 interview with Spaceflight Now. "After the last goodbye, I thought, you know what? I have no idea wh ere I'm going to be in a month. I knew we had all the post-flight stuff to do, but I had no idea what my future held. Am I going to go teach at college? What am I going to do?"

He found a job at Boeing, which announced in 2010 it was developing the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in partnership with NASA's commercial crew program, aimed at ending U.S. reliance on Russian Soyuz vehicles for crew access to the space station in the post-shuttle era.

"Now I find myself right back in the fight again, right back in the fight as a stakeholder in making sure that we're successful," Ferguson said in 2016.

The fighter pilot-turned-astronaut-turned-manager will have a renaissance of his flying career on the CST-100 Starliner's crew test flight, which is now scheduled for mid-2019 after an unpiloted demo mission late this year or early next year.

Ferguson's shuttle crew in 2011 left a U.S. flag on the space station for the next astronauts launched from U.S. soil to bring home.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Ferguson said the competition between Boeing and SpaceX is "sort of grown-up capture the flag ... It probably has a lot more significance to me than it does to, say, somebody from our competition."

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000149454500/c2e974df2f92ce57b2c8db329f5da805_bigger.png)Emre Kelly‏Подлинная учетная запись @EmreKelly (https://twitter.com/EmreKelly) 10 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/1025052504982269952)

Shiny new renderings of SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner released by @NASAKennedy (https://twitter.com/NASAKennedy) show some pretty incredible details.

Full res: https://bit.ly/2Km2m7I  (https://t.co/xJPeirdqq1) | https://bit.ly/2LNlalJ  (https://t.co/c07SaPA18P)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/167376.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/167377.jpg)

ЦитироватьNASA's Commercial Crew Program Target Test Flight Dates

Stephanie Martin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/samarti9/)
Posted Aug 2, 2018 at 2:00 pm

The next generation of American spacecraft and rockets that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station are nearing the final stages of development and evaluation. NASA's Commercial Crew Program will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements. To meet NASA's requirements, the commercial providers must demonstrate that their systems are ready to begin regular flights to the space station. Two of those demonstrations are uncrewed flight tests, known as Orbital Flight Test for Boeing, and Demo-1 for SpaceX. After the uncrewed flight tests, both companies will execute a flight test with crew prior to being certified by NASA for crew rotation missions. The following schedule reflects the most recent publicly releasable dates for both providers.

Targeted Test Flight Dates:
Boeing Orbital Flight Test (uncrewed): late 2018 / early 2019
Boeing Crew Flight Test (crewed): mid-2019
SpaceX Demo-1 (uncrewed): November 2018
SpaceX Demo-2 (crewed): April 2019

ЦитироватьAug. 2, 2018

Flight Tests to Prove Commercial Systems Fit for Human Spaceflight

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207675.jpg) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ccp3.jpg)
NASA's Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems to carry crews safely to and fr om low-Earth orbit – the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing CST-100 Starliner.
Credits: NASA

The first test flights for new spacecraft designed by commercial companies in collaboration with NASA to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station from the United States are known as Demo-1 for SpaceX and Orbital Flight Test for Boeing.

NASA's goal in collaborating with Boeing and SpaceX is to achieve safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from station on the companies' spacecraft. Both companies have matured their designs, are making significant progress through their extensive testing campaigns (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-commercial-partners-progress-to-human-spaceflight-home-stretch), and are headed toward flight tests to validate their systems.

An uncrewed flight test was not a NASA requirement for certifying these systems for human spaceflight. Boeing and SpaceX volunteered to perform these tests to demonstrate their systems are safe for crew.

"This was above and beyond the NASA requirement in the contract," said Kathy Lueders, Commercial Crew Program manager at NASA Kennedy. "Both partners said they really wanted to have an uncrewed flight test to make sure the integrated rockets, spacecraft and re-entry systems are all working as designed to be able to ensure the integrated system is functioning."

Спойлер

Each test flight will provide data on the performance of the rockets, spacecraft, ground systems, and operations to ensure the systems are safe to fly astronauts. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

"Tomorrow we will meet the astronauts who will be the first to fly the CST-100 Starliner. Our commitment has always been to provide NASA and those crews the highest level of mission assurance," said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for Boeing's Commercial Crew effort. "We believe the earliest time we can confidently do that will be in mid-2019 after flying an uncrewed flight test late this year or early next year. I'm incredibly proud of the progress our team has made, and it has been inspiring to watch them work through challenges quickly, while developing a brand new human-rated spacecraft that Boeing, NASA and the nation can be proud of."

SpaceX designed its Crew Dragon spacecraft to launch atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"Safely and reliably flying commercial crew missions for NASA remains the highest priority for SpaceX," said Benji Reed, Director of Crew Mission Management at SpaceX. "We look forward to launching Crew Dragon—designed to be one of the safest, most-advanced human spaceflight systems ever built—and returning human-spaceflight capabilities to the United States for the first time since the Space Shuttle Program retired in 2011. SpaceX is targeting November 2018 for Crew Dragon's first demonstration mission and April 2019 for Crew Dragon's second demonstration mission, which will carry two NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station."

NASA is making crew assignments now for the Boeing Crew Flight Test and SpaceX Demo-2 to support flight training as we return to launching our astronauts from American soil. As a partner approaches its target readiness date, NASA will work with the company and the Eastern Range to identify launch dates within the busy International Space Station schedule to ensure science investigations, as well as logistics activities and critical operations continue while these new spacecraft are tested.

Many of the team members leading the unique public-private partnership believe the agency is on the cusp of something life changing with its Commercial Crew Program.

"I'm excited to be part of the future of space travel," said Jon Cowart, acting deputy manager for the Commercial Crew Program's Mission Management and Integration office at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "When we get to this point the companies will have tested every piece of the spacecraft individually, but there is so much more learning that occurs when the spacecraft is actually operated in space. The systems will be operated in the actual environment to test it and ensure it's ready for crew."

The hardware for these uncrewed missions is being prepared for launch. Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is being outfitted at the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility on the Kennedy and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V dual engine Centaur that will launch Starliner will be shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in August to prepare for the upcoming flight. Separately, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft for Demo-1 arrived to the Cape (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2018/07/12/crew-dragon-arrives-in-florida/) in July for final processing. Falcon 9's first and second stages for the Demo-1 mission are targeted to ship from SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California to the company's rocket testing facility in McGregor, Texas for additional testing in August.

Once the uncrewed flight tests are complete and the data reviews have validated the spacecraft systems, NASA astronauts will have their first opportunity to fly in the spacecraft. Crew for Boeing's Crew Flight Test and SpaceX's Demo-2 flights will each include at least a flight commander and pilot aboard to test out the systems.

These flight tests will have similar configurations to the uncrewed tests, but the crew will have the ability to interface with spacecraft displays, communicate with mission control, and practice manual controls during flight. Starliner and Crew Dragon will dock and undock autonomously to the space station before returning the crew safely home.

"The crew right now is actually working on integrated crew simulations on the flight systems," said Lueders. "They are providing input to the partners to help ensure the interior of the cabin is appropriately located and set up so crew can function and conduct key activities. They're verifying crew layout, doing simulations wh ere they're actually practicing their maneuvers, and also checking out the software and the display systems, and everything else for the crew to be functioning safely in the spacecraft."

After successful completion of the flight tests with crew, NASA will review flight data to verify the systems meet the agency's safety and performance certification requirements and are ready to begin regular servicing missions to the space station.

"I see parallels between commercial crew and the early aviation industry, when government nurtured that commercial innovation," said Cowart. "In similar fashion, NASA is empowering private industry to gain solid footing in low-Earth orbit, which will allow NASA to explore new frontiers in deep space."

[свернуть]

Last Updated: Aug. 2, 2018
Editor: Anna Heiney

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67521.jpg)Stephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) 5 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/1025394733760344066)

Stage is set Johnson Space Center for today's announcement of the first crews for Boeing and SpaceX commercial spacecraft.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/167499.jpg)

ЦитироватьNASA's Commercial Crew Program: "Our Destiny Lies Above Us"

NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Дата загрузки: 3 авг. 2018 г.

NASA's Commercial Crew Program is poised to return America's capability to launch U.S. astronauts from our nation's soil to the International Space Station.

ЦитироватьThe Commercial Crew Strategy

Marie Lewis (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/mglewis3/)
Posted Aug 3, 2018 at 11:01 am

NASA's Commercial Crew Program (https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew) is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems designed to carry crews safely to and from low-Earth orbit. The Starliner and Crew Dragon will launch American astronauts on American-made spacecraft from American soil to the International Space Station (https://www.nasa.gov/station) for the first time since NASA retired its Space Shuttle Program in 2011.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130610.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130610.jpg)

Commercial transportation to and from the space station will enable expanded station use, additional research time and broader opportunities of discovery aboard the orbiting laboratory. The station is critical for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, and necessary for a sustainable presence on the Moon and missions deeper into the solar system, including Mars.

ЦитироватьMeet the Astronauts Flying Boeing's Crew Flight Test

Marie Lewis (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/mglewis3/)
Posted Aug 3, 2018 at 11:18 am

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130608.png) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/wp-content/uploads/sites/230/2018/08/Boeing-crew-flight-test-resized-for-blog.png)
Fr om left: Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson

Targeted to launch in mid-2019 aboard a Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The crew:

Eric Boe  (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/eric-a-boe/biography)was born in Miami but grew up in Atlanta. He came to NASA from the Air Force, wh ere he was a fighter pilot and test pilot and rose to the rank of Colonel. He was sel ected as an astronaut in 2000, and piloted space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-126 mission, and Discovery on its final flight, STS-133.

Chris Ferguson (https://www.boeing.com/resources/boeingdotcom/space/crew_space_transportation-100_vehicle/docs/Ferguson-StarlinerTestPilot-Bio.pdf) is a native of Philadelphia. He is a retired Navy captain, who piloted space shuttle Atlantis for STS-115, and commanded shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis on STS-126 and STS-135 – the final flight of the space shuttle program. He retired fr om NASA in 2011, and has been an integral part of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner program.

Nicole Aunapu Mann  (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann)is a California native and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps.  She is an F/A-18 test pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in over 25 aircraft. She was selected as an astronaut in 2013, and this will be her first trip to space.

ЦитироватьMeet the Astronauts Flying SpaceX's Demo-2

Marie Lewis (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/mglewis3/)
Posted Aug 3, 2018 at 11:19 am

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130613.png) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/wp-content/uploads/sites/230/2018/08/SpaceX-Demo-2-NEW.png)
From: Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley

Targeted to launch in April 2019 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The crew:

Bob Behnken (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/robert-l-behnken/biography) is from St. Ann, Missouri. He has a doctorate in engineering, is a flight test engineer, and Colonel in the Air Force. He joined the astronaut corps in 2000, and flew aboard space shuttle Endeavour twice – for the STS-123 and STS-130 missions, during which he performed six spacewalks, for a total of more than 37 hours.

Doug Hurley (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/douglas-g-hurley/biography) calls Apalachin, New York, his hometown. He was a test pilot in the Marine Corps before coming to NASA in 2000 to become an astronaut. He achieved the rank of Colonel in the Marine Corps and piloted space shuttle Endeavor for STS-127, and Atlantis for STS-135 – the final space shuttle mission.

ЦитироватьMeet the Astronauts Assigned to Boeing's First Mission

Marie Lewis (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/mglewis3/)
Posted Aug 3, 2018 at 11:22 am

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130609.png) (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/wp-content/uploads/sites/230/2018/08/Boeing-PCM-resized-for-blog.png)
Fr om left: Josh Cassada, Suni Williams

These two NASA astronauts will launch to the International Space Station for a long-duration mission aboard Boeing's CST-100 Statliner atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The crew:

Josh Cassada (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/josh-a-cassada/biography) grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He is a Navy Commander and test pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft. He was sel ected as an astronaut in 2013. This will be his first spaceflight.

Suni Williams (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/sunita-l-williams/biography) was born in Euclid, Ohio, but her hometown is Needham, Massachusetts. Suni came to NASA fr om the Navy, wh ere she was a test pilot and rose to the rank of Captain. Since being selected as an astronaut in 1998, she has spent 322 days in space, commanded the International Space Station and performed seven spacewalks.

ЦитироватьMeet the Astronauts Assigned to SpaceX's First Mission

Marie Lewis (https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/author/mglewis3/)
Posted Aug 3, 2018 at 11:24 am

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130614.png) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/130614.png)
Fr om left: Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins

These two NASA astronauts will launch to the International Space Station for a long-duration mission aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

The crew:

Victor Glover (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/victor-j-glover/biography) is from Pomona, California. He is Navy commander, Naval aviator and test pilot with almost 3,000 hours flying in more than 40 different aircraft, 400 carrier landings and 24 combat missions. He was selected as part of the 2013 astronaut candidate class, and this his will be his first spaceflight.

Mike Hopkins (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/michael-s-hopkins/biography) was born in Lebanon, Missouri, and grew up on a farm near Richland, Missouri. He is a Colonel in the Air Force, wh ere he was a flight test engineer before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009. He's spent 166 days on the International Space Station for Expeditions 37 and 38, and conducted two spacewalks.

ЦитироватьLeroy пишет:
Кто в экипажах командиры? Кто дублеры?

ЦитироватьNASA reveals crews for first flights of commercial spaceships
August 3, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144816.jpg)
NASA introduces the astronauts assigned to the first flights of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now

NASA announced Friday a mix of spaceflight veterans and rookie astronauts who will launch on the first flights of new Boeing and SpaceX commercial spaceships starting as soon as next spring, several months later than previously scheduled.

In a ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the space agency revealed nine astronauts assigned to the first four crewed flights of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsules.

Спойлер

"For the first time since 2011, we are on the brink of launching American astronauts on American rockets fr om American soil," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Former shuttle commander Chris Ferguson, who helmed the final flight of the shuttle Atlantis in 2011, will lead a three-person crew on the first piloted mission of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule. Ferguson, now a Boeing employee, will be joined by veteran shuttle pilot Eric Boe and rookie astronaut Nicole Mann on the CST-100's Crew Test Flight, scheduled for liftoff in May 2019.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144782.jpg)
Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson is helped into his spacesuit ahead of emergency egress training at United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 launch pad at Cape Canaveral in June. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

A two-man team of NASA astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon into orbit on its first crewed test flight, targeted for launch in April 2019. NASA astronaut Bob Behnken, an experienced spacewalker who flew on two shuttle missions, will strap into the Crew Dragon alongside former shuttle pilot Doug Hurley.

Both capsules will fly to the International Space Station on their first crewed test flights, blazing a trail for future crews to ride to and from the orbiting research complex on operational crew rotation missions, ending NASA's sole reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for the job.

NASA also unveiled part of the crews who will ride the CST-100 and Crew Dragon's first regular crew rotation flights, called "post-certification" missions by the space agency and its contractors.

On Boeing's first post-certification mission, NASA astronaut Suni Williams, who has flown on the space station two times already, will fly to the outpost again with first-time space flier Josh Cassada.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144860.jpg)
From left to right: Suni Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Mike Hopkins, and Victor Glover. Credit: NASA

Veteran station flight engineer Mike Hopkins will be accompanied by rookie astronaut Victor Glover on the Crew Dragon's first operational flight to the station.

NASA's partners on the International Space Station program — the Russian space agency Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency — are expected to assign members of their own astronaut corps to the CST-100 and Crew Dragon crew rotation flights.

The space agency says each post-certification flight by the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry four passengers on half-year expeditions to the space station. Boeing and Space Adventures, the U.S. company that arranged space tourist flights on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, have a partnership that could allow paying passengers to ride in a fifth seat on CST-100 missions for shorter-duration missions.

Under the Obama administration, NASA decided to turn over responsibility for carrying astronauts to and from low Earth orbit to the private sector after the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011. The agency sel ected Boeing and SpaceX for the task in 2014, awarding contracts to each company valued at $4.2 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.

Originally designed in the 1970s, with upgrades added through the following three decades, the space shuttle was part-crew carrier, part-cargo truck. The new-generation commercial vehicles supporting the space station come in two versions, with SpaceX and Northrop Grumman providing cargo services, and SpaceX and Boeing carrying astronauts.

"The space shuttle, I think what we've really discovered, at least in my part over the last three or four years working in commercial crew, was that vehicle was really capable, and it's super-hard to dupicate it in the short period of time we've had," Behnken said Friday. "It had decades to kind of mature to wh ere it was when we got our chance to fly it.

"It's hard to kind of create a vehicle that accomplishes what that vehicle did so wonderfully and so majestically," Behnken said.

While they lack the size and lift capacity of the shuttle, but the new commercial ships benefit from numerous advancements in technology, and they are both designed to be safer — and less expensive — than the shuttle.

"With 40 years difference in avionics and technology development, we have squeezed a lot more into a smaller ship, you see a lot of that, a lot more capability in terms what the vehicles can do," Ferguson said. "I think what we really see now is a much greater emphasis on safety. We're returning to a full capability ascent abort system to keep astronauts safe all the way throgh the profile, and that's something that the shuttle didn't have."

Boeing's capsules will launch aboard United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets from Cape Canaveral, dock with the International Space Station for stays of up seven months, and return to Earth for landings in the Western United States with the aid of parachutes and airbags.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144787.jpg)
NASA astronaut Nicole Mann is helped into her spacesuit ahead of emergency egress training at United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 launch pad at Cape Canaveral in June. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Built to the same basic NASA requirements, SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicles will launch from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, a former shuttle launch facility, on the company's own Falcon 9 rockets, then return to parachute-assisted splashdowns at sea.

Mann, a F/A-18 test pilot in the Marine Corps before joining NASA, said the launch of space crews fr om U.S. soil will be "a proud moment for America."

"I'm just grateful to be able to help usher in this new era of American spaceflight," Mann said. "As a test pilot, it doesn't get any better than this."

Hurley, also Marine Corps fighter pilot-turned-astronaut, said test pilots dream of taking a new vehicle into the sky for the first time.

"The first flight is something you dream about as a test pilot, and you don't think it's ever going to happen to you," he said. "But it looks like it might."

"Announcing the crews today is an important milestone in our journey of exploration," said Bob Cabana, a former astronaut and director at KSC. "The only way I think it could be better is if I was on one of these assigned crews."

He congratulated the commercial crew astronauts: "Thanks for your efforts as you narrow your focus to a specific spacecraft and apply your test pilot and development skills on the specific vehicles that you're going to be flying in space."

NASA announced updated schedules for the first CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon test flights Thursday.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft is now expected to make its first unpiloted test flight in Earth orbit in November, followed by the crewed test flight in April 2019. The CST-100 Starliner's first demo mission is scheduled for early 2019, likely in January, followed four or five months later by the crewed demo flight.

NASA and Boeing have agreed to potentially use the CST-100 Starliner's crewed test flight, which originally was supposed to launch with a Boeing test pilot and a NASA astronaut, to carry a passenger who would stay aboard the space station for a long-duration months-long stay. If NASA chooses to exercise that option, the extra crew member — NASA astronaut Nicole Mann — could help ensure the station has a U.S. astronaut on-board after the space agency's agreement with the Russian government for Soyuz crew seats expires.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144734.jpg)
NASA astronaut Suni Williams inside a training version of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX

The Russian space agency — Roscosmos — and NASA have agreed to extend the length of upcoming space station expeditions to more than six months. That will allow NASA's contract for astronauts seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to cover crew returns through at least January 2020, several months later than originally planned.

These measures are aimed at reducing the risk of a gap in U.S. crew access to the space station after NASA's contract with Roscosmos for Soyuz crew seats expires.

Once the U.S.-built commercial capsules are flying, all Crew Dragon and CST-100 missions will fly with a Russian cosmonaut and all Soyuz flights will launch with a NASA flight engineer, ensuring critical U.S. and Russian systems on the space station can always be operated by a proficient crew member.

The "in-kind" agreement between NASA and Roscosmos will not involve any exchange of funds.

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186343.jpg)Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/1025419211907256321)

#NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) announces @Commercial_Crew (https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew) who will fly #SpaceX (https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpaceX?src=hash) & #Boeing (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Boeing?src=hash) test flights & both companies' 1st long-duration missions to @Space_Station (https://twitter.com/Space_Station), an announcement that drives home NASA's commitment to expansion of crew launch capability to commercial sector.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/08/commercial-crew-nasa-goal-human-transport/ ... (https://t.co/xVuXNMURbs)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/167508.jpg)

ЦитироватьNASA Announces Astronaut Crews for First Commercial Vehicle Flights
NASA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLA_DiR1FfKNvjuUpBHmylQ)

Опубликовано: 3 авг. 2018 г.

NASA announces the men and women who will be on board the first flights of the new spaceships built by Boeing and SpaceX when Americans are once again launched into space from the USA.

ЦитироватьAug. 3, 2018
RELEASE 18-067

NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/207754.png) (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/group_photo.png)
NASA introduced to the world on Aug. 3, 2018, the first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and fr om the International Space Station – an endeavor that will return astronaut launches to U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011. The agency assigned nine astronauts to crew the first test flight and mission of both Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon. The astronauts are, fr om left to right: Sunita Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Christopher Ferguson, Douglas Hurley, Robert Behnken, Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover.
Credits: NASA

NASA introduced to the world on Friday the first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and fr om the International Space Station (http://www.nasa.gov/station) – an endeavor that will return astronaut launches to U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011.

"Today, our country's dreams of greater achievements in space are within our grasp," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "This accomplished group of American astronauts, flying on new spacecraft developed by our commercial partners Boeing and SpaceX, will launch a new era of human spaceflight. Today's announcement advances our great American vision and strengthens the nation's leadership in space."

The agency assigned nine astronauts to crew the first test flight and mission of both Boeing's CST-100 Starliner (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/boeing_starliner_dock_to_iss_co.jpg) and SpaceX's Crew Dragon (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/edu_sos_ll-dragon.jpg). NASA has worked closely with the companies throughout design, development and testing to ensure the systems meet NASA's safety and performance requirements. 

"The men and women we assign to these first flights are at the forefront of this exciting new time for human spaceflight," said Mark Geyer, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "It will be thrilling to see our astronauts lift off from American soil, and we can't wait to see them aboard the International Space Station." 

Starliner Test Flight Astronauts

Eric Boe (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/eric-a-boe) was born in Miami and grew up in Atlanta. He came to NASA from the Air Force, wh ere he was a fighter pilot and test pilot and rose to the rank of colonel. He was sel ected as an astronaut in 2000 and piloted space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-126 mission and Discovery on its final flight, STS-133.

Christopher Ferguson (http://www.boeing.com/starliner) is a native of Philadelphia. He is a retired Navy captain, who piloted space shuttle Atlantis for STS-115, and commanded shuttle Endeavour on STS-126 and Atlantis for the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, STS-135. He retired from NASA in 2011 and has been an integral part of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner program.

Nicole Aunapu Mann (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann) is a California native and a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps. She is an F/A-18 test pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in more than 25 aircraft. Mann was sel ected as an astronaut in 2013. This will be her first trip to space.

Boeing's Starliner will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Crew Dragon Test Flight Astronauts

Robert Behnken (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/robert-l-behnken) is from St. Ann, Missouri. He has a doctorate in engineering and is a flight test engineer and colonel in the Air Force. He joined the astronaut corps in 2000 and flew aboard space shuttle Endeavour twice, for the STS-123 and STS-130 missions, during which he performed six spacewalks totaling more than 37 hours.

Douglas Hurley (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/douglas-g-hurley) calls Apalachin, New York, his hometown. He was a test pilot and colonel in the Marine Corps before coming to NASA in 2000 to become an astronaut. He piloted space shuttle Endeavor for STS-127 and Atlantis for STS-135, the final space shuttle mission.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After each company successfully completes its crewed test flight, NASA will begin the final process of certifying that spacecraft and systems for regular crew missions to the space station. The agency has contracted six missions, with as many as four astronauts per mission, for each company.

Starliner First Mission Astronauts

Josh Cassada (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/josh-a-cassada) grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He is a Navy commander and test pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft. He was sel ected as an astronaut in 2013. This will be his first spaceflight.

Sunita Williams (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/sunita-l-williams) was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. Williams came to NASA fr om the Navy, wh ere she was a test pilot and rose to the rank of captain before retiring. Since her selection as an astronaut in 1998, she has spent 322 days aboard the International Space Station for Expeditions 14/15 and Expeditions 32/33, commanded the space station and performed seven spacewalks.

Crew Dragon First Mission Astronauts

Victor Glover (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/victor-j-glover) is fr om Pomona, California. He is a Navy commander, aviator and test pilot with almost 3,000 hours flying more than 40 different aircraft. He made 400 carrier landings and flew 24 combat missions. He was selected as part of the 2013 astronaut candidate class, and this will be his first spaceflight.

Michael Hopkins (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/michael-s-hopkins) was born in Lebanon, Missouri, and grew up on a farm near Richland, Missouri. He is a colonel in the Air Force, wh ere he was a flight test engineer before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009. He has spent 166 days on the International Space Station for Expeditions 37/38, and conducted two spacewalks.

Additional crew members will be assigned by NASA's international partners at a later date.

Спойлер

NASA's continuous presence on the space station for almost 18 years has enabled technology demonstrations and research in biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, human health, physical sciences. This research has led to dramatic improvements in technology, infrastructure and medicine, and thousands of spinoff technologies that have improved quality of life here on Earth.

The new spaceflight capability provided by Boeing and SpaceX will allow NASA to maintain a crew of seven astronauts on the space station, thereby maximizing scientific research (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html) that leads to breakthroughs and also aids in understanding and mitigating the challenges of long-duration spaceflight.

NASA's Commercial Crew Program is facilitating the development of a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and fr om the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. The public-private partnerships fostered by the program will stimulate growth in a robust commercial space industry and spark life-changing innovations for future generations.

[свернуть]

Last Updated: Aug. 3, 2018
Editor: Sean Potter

ЦитироватьНазваны астронавты, которые первыми полетят на кораблях Starliner и Dragon

Космос (http://tass.ru/kosmos) 3 августа, 18:52 дата обновления:3 августа, 19:10 UTC+3

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/187082.jpg)
Виктор Гловер, Майкл Хопкинс, Боб Брекен, Дуг Херли, Николь Амапу-Манн, Крис Фергюсон, Эрик Боу, Джон Кассада и Сунита Уильямс (слева направо)
© AP Photo/David J. Phillip

НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 3 августа. /ТАСС/. Имена астронавтов, которые первыми совершат полеты на космических кораблях Dragon и CTS-100 Starliner, названы в пятницу на пресс-конференции в Центре космических полетов имени Джонсона в Хьюстоне (штат Техас). Трансляция шла на сайте национального управления по аэронавтике и исследованиям космического пространства (NASA).

Как сообщил директор NASA Джим Брайденстайн, создаваемый корпорацией Boeing корабль Starliner будут пилотировать Эрик Боу и Крис Фергюсон, ранее уже совершавшие полеты на кораблях Space Shuttle, а также Николь Амапу-Манн, для которой предстоящий полет будет первым. На космическом корабле Dragon, который создан компанией SpaceX, первый пилотируемый полет совершат Боб Брекен и Дуг Херли. Они должны будут отработать маневр стыковки с Международной космической станцией (МКС).

Первый регулярный полет к МКС на корабле Starliner совершат Джон Кассада и Сунита Уильямс, а на Dragon - Майкл Хопкинс и Виктор Гловер.

"Впервые с 2011 года американские астронавты совершат полеты на американских космических кораблях, запущенных с территории США", - подчеркнул директор NASA. До сих пор американские астронавты совершали полеты на Международную космическую станцию на борту российских космических кораблей.

Космический корабль Dragon был доставлен 14 июля на космодром на мысе Канаверал. Как ожидается, сначала он будет запущен в беспилотном режиме, вероятно, осенью нынешнего года. Этот полет будет обозначен как Demo-1. Дата пилотируемого полета будет названа позднее.

Первый непилотируемый полет космического корабля Starliner, как ожидается, состоится не ранее конца нынешнего или начала будущего года в связи с проблемами, выявленными в ходе испытаний двигателей для аварийного прекращения полета. Как сообщил в минувший четверг интернет-портал Space.com со ссылкой на высказывания вице-президнта компании Boeing Джона Малхолланда, пилотируемый полет может состояться в середине 2019 года.

ЦитироватьNASA представило астронавтов, которые первыми совершат полет на Starliner

19:04 03.08.2018

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/132503.jpg)
© Flickr / NASA HQ PHOTO (https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/23351024062)

ВАШИНГТОН, 3 авг – РИА Новости. Девять астронавтов — семь мужчин и две женщины — войдут в число первых экипажей строящихся американских пилотируемых кораблей CTC–100 Starliner и Crew Dragon.

Глава НАСА Джим Брайденстайн представил астронавтов на торжественной церемонии, которая прошла в космическом центре имени Джонсона в Техасе.
"Впервые с 2011 года мы на грани того, чтобы запустить американского астронавта на американском корабле с американской земли", — сказал глава космического ведомства США.

В первый тестовый полет на корабле CTC–100 Starliner отправятся ветераны комических полетов Эрик Боу, Крис Фергюсон, а также 41-летняя Николь Анапу Мэнн, для которой это будет первым полетом в космос.

В испытательный полет на корабле Crew Dragon отправятся Боб Бенкен и Даг Херли.

После того, как оба корабля пройдут сертификацию для доставки экипажей на МКС. В пилотируемые полеты на МКС на корабле CTC–100 Starliner отправятся ветеран полетов 52-летняя Сани Уильямс, а также дебютанты космических полетов Джон Кассада, на Crew Dragon полетят Майк Хопкинс и Виктор Гловер.
...

ЦитироватьCommercial Crew Program Crew Assignment Announcement - August 3, 2018

NASA Video (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aP7p621ATY_yAa8jMqUVA)

Опубликовано: 3 авг. 2018 г.

NASA introduced to the world on Friday the first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station – an endeavor that will return astronaut launches to U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011.

Цитировать https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/03/nasa-reveals-crews-for-first-flights-of-commercial-spaceships/

The space agency says each post-certification flight by the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry four passengers on half-year expeditions to the space station. Boeing and Space Adventures, the U.S. company that arranged space tourist flights on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, have a partnership that could allow paying passengers to ride in a fifth seat on CST-100 missions for shorter-duration missions.
...
NASA and Boeing have agreed to potentially use the CST-100 Starliner's crewed test flight, which originally was supposed to launch with a Boeing test pilot and a NASA astronaut, to carry a passenger who would stay aboard the space station for a long-duration months-long stay. If NASA chooses to exercise that option, the CST-100 test pilots could help ensure the station has a U.S. astronaut on-board after the space agency's agreement with the Russian government for Soyuz crew seats expires.
...
...
Once the U.S.-built commercial capsules are flying, all Crew Dragon and CST-100 missions will fly with a Russian cosmonaut and all Soyuz flights will launch with a NASA flight engineer, ensuring critical U.S. and Russian systems on the space station can always be operated by a proficient crew member.

The "in-kind" agreement between NASA and Roscosmos will not involve any exchange of funds.

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
4) избитая тема про не отработанные ДУ САС - и у SpaceX и у Boeing - это узкое горлышко: в случае заминки на испытаниях САС на Qmax весной 2019 года - и те и другие будут отрабатывать корабли в грузовозвращающих вариантах;

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
1) экипажи назначены, но корабли для пилотируемых полетов не сертифицированы;

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
1) экипажи назначены, но корабли для пилотируемых полетов не сертифицированы;

Так ведь чтобы сертифицировать надо слетать с экипажем.

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
4) избитая тема про не отработанные ДУ САС - и у SpaceX и у Boeing - это узкое горлышко: в случае заминки на испытаниях САС на Qmax весной 2019 года - и те и другие будут отрабатывать корабли в грузовозвращающих вариантах;

Боинг вообще не планирует испытывать САС в полете, насколько я помню.

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
1) экипажи назначены, но корабли для пилотируемых полетов не сертифицированы;

Так ведь чтобы сертифицировать надо слетать с экипажем.

Чтобы корабли сертифицировать надо пройти три этапа. На сегодня не пройден второй этап.

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
4) избитая тема про не отработанные ДУ САС - и у SpaceX и у Boeing - это узкое горлышко: в случае заминки на испытаниях САС на Qmax весной 2019 года - и те и другие будут отрабатывать корабли в грузовозвращающих вариантах;

Боинг вообще не планирует испытывать САС в полете, насколько я помню.

Боинг молчал два месяца о замечании на стендовых испытаниях ДУ САС. Для испытаний на Qmax денег в программе не заложили. SpaceX за свои будет проводить испытания на Q max на б/у ракетном блоке первой ступени. Следствия от покупки коммерческих услуг по доставке и возврату экипажей - вся ответственность на коммерческих разработчиках. NASA отвечает только за участок полета в составе станции, плюс ближний участок.

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
1) экипажи назначены, но корабли для пилотируемых полетов не сертифицированы;

Так ведь чтобы сертифицировать надо слетать с экипажем.

Чтобы корабли сертифицировать надо пройти три этапа. На сегодня не пройден второй этап.

Но как это мешает назначать экипажи?

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
4) избитая тема про не отработанные ДУ САС - и у SpaceX и у Boeing - это узкое горлышко: в случае заминки на испытаниях САС на Qmax весной 2019 года - и те и другие будут отрабатывать корабли в грузовозвращающих вариантах;

Боинг вообще не планирует испытывать САС в полете, насколько я помню.

Боинг молчал два месяца о замечании на стендовых испытаниях ДУ САС. Для испытаний на Qmax денег в программе не заложили. SpaceX за свои будет проводить испытания на Q max на б/у ракетном блоке первой ступени. Следствия от покупки коммерческих услуг по доставке и возврату экипажей - вся ответственность на коммерческих разработчиках. NASA отвечает только за участок полета в составе станции, плюс ближний участок.

Насколько я помню In Flight Abort Test это последний оставшийся майлстоун программы CCiCap и он вполне оплачиваемый.

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
При такой логике NASA уже в 2014 году точно знала о стоимости б/у ракетного блока первой ступени и точно определила стоимость этапа работ. Верится с трудом. Стоимости этапов работ, равно как и критерии успешного выполнения этапа, залиты черными чернилами в тексте контрактов. Может есть белый вариант контракта?

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
При такой логике NASA уже в 2014 году точно знала о стоимости б/у ракетного блока первой ступени и точно определила стоимость этапа работ. Верится с трудом.

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
Кстати, In-Flight Aboirt Test - не единственный оставшийся. Беспилотный и пилотируемый испытательный полеты тоже входят в CCiCap, и тоже будут оплачиваться.

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
Кстати, In-Flight Aboirt Test - не единственный оставшийся. Беспилотный и пилотируемый испытательный полеты тоже входят в CCiCap, и тоже будут оплачиваться.

Похоже таки да. Осталось 3 из 15.

 http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum10/topic13239/message1649605/#message1649605

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
Кстати, In-Flight Aboirt Test - не единственный оставшийся. Беспилотный и пилотируемый испытательный полеты тоже входят в CCiCap, и тоже будут оплачиваться.

Похоже таки да. Осталось 3 из 15.

 http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum10/topic13239/message1649605/#message1649605

Хотя нет. Здесь остался один (стр 193).

 https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/fy19_nasa_budget_estimates.pdf

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
При такой логике NASA уже в 2014 году точно знала о стоимости б/у ракетного блока первой ступени и точно определила стоимость этапа работ. Верится с трудом.

Это же не кост плюс. НАСА вообще не должно интересовать будет это новая ракета или б/у и во сколько это на самом деле обойдется SpaceX.

Цитироватьtestest пишет:

ЦитироватьPatron пишет:
При такой логике NASA уже в 2014 году точно знала о стоимости б/у ракетного блока первой ступени и точно определила стоимость этапа работ. Верится с трудом. Стоимости этапов работ, равно как и критерии успешного выполнения этапа, залиты черными чернилами в тексте контрактов. Может есть белый вариант контракта?

Оплата за каждый майлстоун не обязательно должна точно соответствовать его себестоимости. В среднем за один майлстоун НАСА платит 20-30 млн. Кстати, In-Flight Aboirt Test - не единственный оставшийся. Беспилотный и пилотируемый испытательный полеты тоже входят в CCiCap, и тоже будут оплачиваться.

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
Заходите и голусуйте за "Soyuz forever"  ;)