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.

Companies building space taxis get funding boost from NASA

Boeing CST-100

NASA announced August 3 a further round of funding for three US companies developing astronaut transportation.  

SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation have all been awarded new Space Act Agreements under NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) program that provides each company with additional cash for the development of their spacecraft.

NASA, which has not been able to transport crew to the International Space Station since the retirement of the Space Shuttle last year, is keen to regain human spaceflight capability as soon as possible.

NASA boss Charles Bolden declared: "We have selected three companies that will help keep us on track to end the outsourcing of human spaceflight and create high-paying jobs in Florida and elsewhere across the country."

Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser

All three companies awarded new agreements have already been developing their space taxis with the help of NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Program.

Space Exploration Technologies - SpaceX - is building a crewed version of its Dragon capsule and under its new CCiCap agreement will benefit from an injection of $440 million from NASA.

Dragon was always conceived as a vehicle that could take crew as well as cargo, and is the only spacecraft in the commercial crew program that has been put into orbit.

Furthermore, it also berthed successfully with the space station on its second orbital flight in May 2012, proving its rendezvous technology. The company plans to have its first manned flight by 2015.

Dragon will be able to carry seven astronauts and, if SpaceX succeeds with its propulsive landing system, will be able to land on its legs rather than in the ocean.

Elon Musk, the founder, CEO and Chief Designer of SpaceX, said: “This is a decisive milestone in human spaceflight and sets an exciting course for the next phase of American space exploration. SpaceX, along with our partners at NASA, will continue to push the boundaries of space technology to develop the safest, most advanced crew vehicle ever flown.”

SpaceX Dragon

NASA X-37B Space Drone OTV-2 Returns to Earth Safely

The USAF X-37B designated Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV)-2 returned to Earth on Saturday, June 16th after 468 days 13 hours and 2 minutes on a voyage that orbited the Earth more than 7,000 times performing a classified mission.

OTV-2 received the command from its ground controller to return and initiated an autonomous firing sequence of its propulsion system to brake from its orbit and dive through the atmosphere for a reentry over the Pacific Ocean.

OTV-2 executed a series of turns similar to those performed by the Space Shuttle to dissipate speed as it navigated autonomously via GPS towards Vandenberg AFB in California. OTV-2 touched down on the 3-mile (4.8 kilometer) long runway at Vandenberg 5:48 a.m. local (8:48 a.m. EDT; 1248 GMT).

OTV-2′s flight and that of its sister ship OTV-1, is classified and will likely remain so.

It is that secrecy that has spawned speculation about the purpose of the both spacecraft ranging from a test-bed for new sensors and materials to being a prototype for a new generation of space weapons.

The U.S. Air Force maintains that both spacecraft are designed as test-beds for new technologies; however, the classified nature of the project will ensure that speculation will continue.

NASA NEEMO: Space Exploration Vehicle arrives

Space Exploration Vehicle arrives at ‪NEEMO

NASA - Orion Ground Test Vehicle Arrives at Kennedy

The Orion Ground Test Vehicle arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Operations & Checkout (O&C) Facility on April 21. 

The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from Lockheed Martin's Waterton Facility near Denver, Colo., where it successfully completed a series of rigorous acoustic, modal and vibration tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments.

The ground test vehicle will now be used for pathfinding operations at the O&C in preparation for the Orion spaceflight test vehicle's arrival this summer. 

The spaceflight vehicle is currently being fabricated at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La., and is slated for NASA's Exploration Flight Test, or EFT-1, in 2014.

Image Credit: NASA

SpaceX Dragon Spaceship: Safety Panel Includes Former Astronauts and Space Experts

Credit: SpaceX/Dragon Spacecraft

The private spaceflght company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is aiming to launch the first crewed commercial spaceship to the International Space Station and has assembled a team of experts and former astronauts to help make it happen.

To that end, the Hawthorne, Calif., based SpaceX has established an independent safety advisory panel has been established to provide an objective review of the company's Dragon space capsule and its carrier, the Falcon 9 rocket, the company announced Thursday (March 29).

SpaceX is already designing an unmanned capsule, called Dragon, to bring supplies to and from the space station. A crucial test flight of the Dragon capsule is scheduled to occur on April 30, but the company is also working toward its other goal of one day using a version of Dragon to taxi astronauts to the orbiting outpost.

"When it comes to manned spaceflight, safety is our top priority," Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO and chief designer, said in a statement. "These experts will provide us with important insights as we prepare to carry astronauts on the next generation of American spacecraft."

MT Aerospace to manufacture flight hardware for ESA IXV reentry vehicle

MT Aerospace received an important follow-up order to manufacture ceramic compound body flaps and heat shield components for the European IXV reentry vehicle.

After completion of the development phase and successful Critical Design Review, Thales Alenia Space Italia, as prime contractor, and the Augsburg/Germany based company signed a contract for the qualification and manufacture of the IXV vehicle's flight hardware.

IXV will be launched into space in 2014 to test reentry technologies for future space applications.

The lightweight ceramic body flaps, each with a length of 0.8 m and a weight of ca. 37 kg, as well as main components of the thermal protection system on the vehicle's leeward side have been developed in Augsburg and are fabricated of patented, high-temperature resistant fiber-reinforced ceramic composites.

These high-performance composites ensure that the components will withstand extreme temperatures of up to 1,900 degrees C and quasi-static loads of up to 5.7 g - a crucial prerequisite for the successful reentry of the IXV, during which the vehicle starts from an altitude of around 450 km and reaches a velocity of 7.5 km/s on entering earth atmosphere.

The highly complex components are going to be delivered by the second half of 2013. IXV will be launched into space on board of a Vega launcher and is intended to collect a large number of useful data at reentry. The aim is to gain valuable knowledge on reentry systems for future European space missions.

Russian Space City: ISS Mock-up

At Space City Russian Segment ISS mockup receives a new addition. A docked Progress supply vehicle. (Right side)

NASA's Orion MPCV Completes second splash test - video

After six months of testing, an 18,000 pound (8,165 kg) Orion mockup took its final splash into NASA Langley Research Center's Hydro Impact Basin on Jan. 6.

Orion, the next deep space exploration vehicle, will carry astronauts into space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel, and ensure safe re-entry and landing.

The testing, which began in July 2011, simulated different water landing scenarios and took into account different velocities, parachute deployments, entry angles, sea states and wind conditions that Orion could face when landing in the Pacific Ocean.

The January 6 test represented worst case landing for an abort scenario in rough seas.

The test impact conditions simulated all parachutes being deployed with a high impact pitch of 43 degrees.

The capsule traveled approximately 47 mph (75.6 kph) before splashing into the basin and rolling over into the Stable 2 position.

This type of landing scenario isn't likely to occur during actual vehicle operation, but is essential for the validation of analytical models.

As was the case with Apollo, the Orion flight design will feature an onboard up-righting system.

Vega to fly ESA experimental reentry vehicle

Europe's ambition for a spacecraft to return autonomously from low orbit is a cornerstone for a wide range of space applications, including space transportation, exploration and robotic servicing of space infrastructure. 

Part of this goal will be achieved with IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, planned for launch in 2014.

Launched into a suborbital trajectory on ESA's Vega rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, IXV will return to Earth as if from a low-orbit mission, to test and qualify new European critical reentry technologies such as advanced ceramic and ablative thermal protection. 

The 2 t IXV lifting body is about 5 m long, 2.2 m wide and 1.5 m high. Its hypersonic lift-to-drag ratio of 0.7 guarantees the required aerodynamic performance. Credits: ESA/J.Huart

The launch of ESA's IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle on Europe's new Vega rocket is now in detailed planning, a major step towards the craft's flight in 2014.

Launched into a suborbital trajectory from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, IXV will return to Earth as if from a low-orbit mission, to test and qualify new critical technologies for future reentry vehicles.

It will attain an altitude of around 450 km, allowing it to reach a velocity of 7.5 km/s on entering the atmosphere. It will collect a large amount of data during its hypersonic and supersonic flight, while it is being controlled by thrusters and aerodynamic flaps.

IXV will then descend by parachute and land in the Pacific Ocean to await recovery and analysis.

ESA and the Arianespace launch provider signed a contract on 14 December to study the launch on Vega, as part of the VERTA - Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment - programme.

The rocket's qualification flight planned for liftoff at the end of January will pave the way for the next five VERTA missions that will demonstrate the system's flexibility.

At a planned rate of two launches per year, the programme will allow the smooth introduction of Vega for commercial exploitation.

Following development of critical technologies and completion of the design, the vehicle's manufacturing, assembly, integration and qualification is now under way for a flight window between January and September 2014.

Procurement of the ground network has begun, including the mission control centre, ground station telemetry kits, transportable antennas and communication network.

Vega is Europe's new, small launcher. Its performance perfectly complements that of the heavy Ariane 5 and medium Soyuz rockets launched from French Guiana.

It is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations in order to respond to different market opportunities and provide great flexibility.

In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites.

Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.

ESA Shuttle± Re/entry vehicle on track for flight in 2013

Europe’s ambition for a spacecraft to return autonomously from low orbit is a cornerstone for a wide range of space applications, including space transportation, exploration and robotic servicing of space infrastructure.

This goal will be achieved with IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, planned for launch in 2013.

Launched into a suborbital trajectory on ESA’s small Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, IXV will return to Earth as if from a low-orbit mission, to test and qualify new European critical reentry technologies such as advanced ceramic and ablative thermal protection.

The 2 t lifting body will attain an altitude of around 450 km, allowing it to reach a velocity of 7.5 km/s on entering the atmosphere. It will collect a large amount of data during its hypersonic and supersonic flight, while it is being controlled by thrusters and aerodynamic flaps.

The craft will then descend by parachute and land in the Pacific Ocean to await recovery and analysis.

Credits: ESA - J.Huart

ESA - Launchers Home - ESA reentry vehicle on track for flight in 2013 - images

NASA Orion space vehicle - From the Beginning

From the Beginning

The bulkhead and nosecone of the Orion spacecraft are joined using friction stir welding at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility.

Nondestructive evaluations will validate the strength and integrity of the weld before the spacecraft is prepped for ground testing in flight-like environments, including static vibration, acoustics and water landing tests.

Image Credit: NASA