Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC) challenges Boeing and SpaceX spacecraft contract

An interior view of Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft.

Credit: Boeing

Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC) said it had filed a legal challenge to NASA’s award of contracts totaling $6.8 billion to Boeing and SpaceX to build commercially owned and operated “space taxis” to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.

NASA had considered a bid by privately owned Sierra Nevada, but U.S. officials said on Tuesday the U.S. space agency had opted to award long-time aerospace contractor Boeing and SpaceX with contracts to develop, certify and fly their seven-person capsules.

SNC said its bid could have saved up to $900 million and that NASA’s statements “indicate that there are serious questions and inconsistencies in the source selection process.”

“SNC, therefore, feels that there is no alternative but to institute a legal challenge,” it added in a statement on Friday.

Boeing was awarded $4.2 billion and SpaceX $2.6 billion. SpaceX is run by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, also chief executive of electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors Inc.

“With the current awards, the U.S. government would spend up to $900 million more at the publicly announced contracted level for a space program equivalent to the program that SNC proposed,” Sierra Nevada said.

It said a “thorough review must be conducted of the award decision.”

The space taxis would end U.S. dependence on Russia for rides to the space station.

The contract has taken on new urgency given rising tensions over Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Boeing CST-100: Next Generation ISS Crew spacecraft

The Boeing CST-100 was designed as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. In September, 2014, Boeing was selected to manufacture the CST-100 as NASA’s human spacecraft provider.

The CST-100 is designed to transport up to seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit destinations such as the International Space Station (ISS) and the Bigelow planned station.

The CST-100 was designed at the Houston Product Support Center and will be manufactured at the Commercial Crew Processing Facility (C3PF), formerly Orbiter Processing Facility-3 (OPF3), at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Boeing will immediately begin manufacturing three CST-100 structural test articles at the Commercial Crew Processing Facility pending NASA award.

These test articles will be used in the pad abort test in 2016, first uncrewed flight in early 2017, as well as the first crewed flight to the ISS in mid-2017.

Crew Space Transportation CST-100

Key Features

• Reusable up to 10 times
• Weldless structure
• Tablet technology
• Wireless Internet
• Boeing LED “Sky Lighting”

Boeing CST-100: Future Commercial Spacecraft Interior revealed

Boeing has unveiled a new commercial interior of its Crew Space Transportation (CST-100) next-generation manned space capsule, showing how people other than NASA astronauts may one day travel to space.

Boeing's new commercial interior of its Crew Space Transportation (CST-100) next-generation manned space capsule, showing how people other than NASA astronauts may one day travel to space.

Credit: Boeing

Boeing and partner Bigelow Aerospace highlighted the future commercial interior of the capsule it is developing for NASA, while Bigelow showcased a full-scale model of its BA 330 commercial space habitat.

Chris Ferguson

"We are moving into a truly commercial space market and we have to consider our potential customers, beyond NASA, and what they need in a future commercial spacecraft interior," said Chris Ferguson, former Space Shuttle Atlantis commander and current Boeing director of Crew and Mission Operations for the Commercial Crew Program.

Engineers from across Boeing leveraged the company's decades of experience in commercial and government aerospace to design the capsule's interior.

Full-scale model of the BA 330 inflatable space habitat, as seen at Bigelow Aerospace’s Las Vegas facilities, Wednesday, April 30, 2014.

Credit: Space.com/Robert Z. Pearlman

"Boeing's teams have been designing award-winning and innovative interiors for our airplanes since the dawn of commercial aviation," said Rachelle Ornan, regional director of Sales and Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

"Designing the next-generation interior for commercial space is a natural progression."

"A familiar daytime blue sky scene helps passengers maintain their connection with Earth."

CST-100, developed as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability initiative, is designed to transport up to seven crew members or a mix of crew and cargo to low-Earth-orbit destinations such as the International Space Station and a planned Bigelow station.

Last Shuttle Commander Virtually Flies Boeing CST-100 to ISS - Video

Former astronaut Chris Ferguson of The Boeing Company demonstrated that the CST-100 spacecraft simulator and software allows a human pilot to take over control of the spacecraft from the computer during various phases of a mission following separation from the launch vehicle.

Boeing Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 simulator.

Chris Ferguson, Boeing's director of Crew and Mission Operations and commander of the final Space Shuttle flight, virtually returned to space recently in the Boeing Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 simulator to satisfy a NASA testing requirement for the spacecraft.

Ferguson performed manual piloting activities including on-orbit attitude and translation maneuvers, docking and backing away from a virtual International Space Station and a manual re-entry to Earth in the simulator.

"It was great to be back in the pilot's seat, even if I didn't leave the ground," Ferguson said.

"It's important for the spacecraft to have manual controls because although it's designed to be largely autonomous, the pilot should always be able to back up that autonomy."

"Manual flight controls provide a sort of a belt-and-suspenders capability for piloting the spacecraft."

The testing for NASA officials satisfied a CST-100 development milestone known as "Pilot in the Loop."

It is the final milestone before the spacecraft's critical design review.

Ferguson, a veteran of three shuttle missions and commander of STS-135, the final shuttle flight, has logged more than 40 days in space and 5,700 hours in high-performance aircraft.

He now oversees the crew interface of the Boeing CST-100 spacecraft and plays a key role in development and testing of system concepts and technologies for the vehicle and integrated launch and ground systems.

"This was the one opportunity to really show off, from a user's perspective, just how real our vehicle is becoming," said Ferguson.

"We demonstrated that the CST-100 is on track to return Americans to space in an American spacecraft."

The simulator will be used for preliminary astronaut training while Boeing builds additional units dedicated exclusively to training astronauts and mission controllers.

A mock-up of Boeing's Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft and a pressurized structure of the crew module is on display at the Boeing exhibit at the 27th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

The Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 can carry a crew of seven and will be used to support the International Space Station and Bigelow Orbital Space Complex.

Boeing CST-100: Emergency Water Landing

Boeing recently demonstrated that astronauts in its Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 capsule will be able to safely exit the spacecraft during an emergency water landing.

Although the CST-100 is designed to land on the ground, Boeing engineers worked with NASA and Department of Defense search-and-recovery personnel to test several emergency water-extraction scenarios.

"Crew safety is our top priority," said Alex Diaz, Boeing director for the testing.

"A water landing is unlikely, but it's important that we test the spacecraft in all potential scenarios."

The testing was done July 8 at Bigelow Aerospace in North Las Vegas, Nev., as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative.

The CST-100 will transport crew members and cargo to low Earth orbit destinations such as the International Space Station and Bigelow's planned station.

The first piloted orbital flight of the CST-100 capsule is scheduled for 2016.

Boeing CST-100: Private Space vehicle - Video

Boeing says its first piloted orbital flight of the CST-100 is planned for 2016.

NASA, based on funding availability, is expecting to begin buying seats on commercial-operated flights to the space station starting a year later.

The space agency is Boeing's core customer for the CST-100, although the aerospace company has also partnered with the space tourism company Space Adventures and Bigelow, which plans to deploy its own commercial space station built using inflatable modules.

Regardless of the destination or mission, Boeing plans to launch the CST-100 atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) provided Atlas V rocket.

The reusable capsule is designed to return to Earth using parachutes and airbags for a soft touchdown on land.

If, in the unlikely scenario an emergency water landing is needed, the CST-100 can also float. Boeing, working with NASA and Department of Defense personnel tested water recovery techniques using a different mockup at Bigelow's Las Vegas facilities earlier this month.