Commercial Crew
ISPCS 2019 – International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight
The International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) is the leading commercial space industry event which gathers the leaders and international representatives of the commercial space industry, state and federal government o…
Commercial crew providers prepare for fall test flights
Boeing and SpaceX said Aug. 19 that they expect to carry out critical test flights of their commercial crew systems this fall, with SpaceX still hopeful of launching astronauts to the International Space Station this year.
NASA warns commercial crew delays create uncertainty in ISS operations
As NASA praises the increased amount of research being performed on the International Space Station, the station’s manager cautions that uncertainty about commercial crew vehicles may disrupt station operations in the year ahead.
Bridenstine says leadership changes linked to urgency in NASA’s exploration programs
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he reassigned the agency’s human spaceflight head, Bill Gerstenmaier, because time was limited to address cost and schedule issues with the agency’s key exploration programs and still meet a 2024 deadline for returning humans to the moon.
GAO recommends NASA develop contingency plan for ISS access amid commercial crew delays
A new Government Accountability Office report called on NASA to develop a contingency plan to maintain access to the station after next September should commercial crew vehicles suffer additional delays.
Safety panel calls on NASA to apply commercial crew lessons for Artemis
As NASA starts development of lunar landers for Artemis, it should carefully incorporate the lessons learned from the commercial crew program, a safety panel advised.
Boeing completes tests of Starliner thrusters
Boeing has completed ground testing of the thrusters for its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle, nearly a year after a setback in earlier testing of those thrusters.
Parachute development a challenge for commercial crew
An incident involving a test of parachutes for one commercial crew vehicle has heightened awareness of the challenges involved in developing those systems, as well as determining what constitutes an anomaly.
Safety panel urges patience in SpaceX Crew Dragon investigation
Members of an independent safety panel said it will take time to determine what happened during a SpaceX Crew Dragon testing incident several days ago, and that its impact to the overall commercial crew program remains uncertain.
NASA approves extension of Boeing commercial crew test flight
A day after Boeing confirmed delays in test flights of its commercial crew vehicle, NASA said that the company’s crewed test flight will get an extended stay at the station when it does fly.
Boeing delays Starliner test flights
Boeing confirmed April 2 it will delay the uncrewed test flight of its commercial crew vehicle, citing a tight schedule and conflicts with another launch.
Almost Ready: SpaceX has work to do before Dragon is ready to carry crew
Even before the launch, NASA officials said there was already work identified before the Demo-1 flight that needed to get done before the agency would consider flying astronauts on board.
Crew Dragon departs ISS and returns to Earth
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon departed from the International Space Station early March 8, heading to a splashdown that will mark the end of a successful test flight for the commercial crew program.
Crew Dragon docks with ISS
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station March 3, a little more than a day after its launch from Florida.
Falcon 9 launches Crew Dragon on key test flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched the first Crew Dragon spacecraft March 2, starting a critical mission to test the spacecraft before it is ready to carry astronauts.
More work ahead for Crew Dragon after test flight
As SpaceX prepares to launch its Crew Dragon spacecraft on its first test flight, the company and NASA acknowledge there’s still a lot of work ahead before the spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts.
