CST-100
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.
Boeing to move space headquarters to Florida
Boeing announced June 19 it will move the headquarters of its space division from the Washington, DC area to Florida as a number of its major programs shift from development to operations.
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.
Commercial crew test flight schedule slips again
NASA announced Feb. 6 another set of delays to the schedule of commercial crew test flights by Boeing and SpaceX, increasing concerns that the vehicles won’t be ready to starting transporting astronauts to the International Space Station by the end of this year.
NASA confirms new delays in commercial crew test flight schedule
A day after a SpaceX executive expressed doubts that his company would be able to carry out its first commercial crew test flight before the end of the year, NASA issued an updated schedule that delayed that mission to 2019.
Commercial crew providers believe they now meet NASA safety requirements
Boeing and SpaceX, who have been struggling to meet safety thresholds established by NASA for commercial crew vehicles, now believe their vehicles can meet those requirements as they prepare for test flights scheduled in the next several months.
NASA confirms delays in Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew flights
NASA released an updated schedule of commercial crew test flights Aug. 2 that confirms Boeing’s revised plans as well as delays for SpaceX’s two demonstration missions.
Boeing delays Starliner uncrewed test flight after abort engine test problem
Boeing now plans to carry out an uncrewed test flight of its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle late this year or early next year as it addresses a problem found during a recent test of the spacecraft’s abort engines.
Boeing’s Starliner launch abort engine suffers problem during testing
Boeing confirmed July 21 that there was an “anomaly” during a recent test of the launch abort engines for its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle that could delay a key milestone needed for the vehicle to be able carry astronauts.
Crewed Starliner test flight could slip to 2019
Boeing says it is making good progress on the development of its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle, but acknowledged the first crewed test flight of the spacecraft might not take place until early 2019.
NASA and companies express growing confidence in commercial crew schedules
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.
Commercial crew flight assignments could come this summer
One of the NASA astronauts training for commercial crew test flights said he expects the agency to make crew assignments for them as soon as this summer.
