NASA Orders SpaceX Crew Mission to International Space Station
“NASA took a significant step Friday toward expanding research opportunities aboard the International Space Station with its first mission order from Hawthorne, California based-company SpaceX to launch astronauts from U.S. soil. This is the second in a series of four guaranteed orders NASA will make under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts. The Boeing Company of Houston received its first crew mission order in May.”

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6 replies on “NASA Buys Crew Flight From SpaceX”

  2. Boeings capsule was ordered in May. SpaceX has only happened now, yet they have tested their pad escape system, while Boeing has not. Is this order so late because SpaceX choice to do their CDR so late, or is this because of some political BS.
    What month does Boeing plan to do their pad abort test?
    When is SpaceX planning their in-flight abort test?
    Is Boeing still planning on NOT doing an in-flight abort test?

    Watching the Dragon in the booster failure, seems the in flight abort is pretty important? The systems that trigger the abort process?

    Was congress delaying funding Really a delay on the development of these capsules or not?

  3. I’m really confused where Boeing is conjuring up Russian Engines for Commercial Spaceflight missions. That hasn’t been made clear to me (if anyone knows). They don’t bid on National Security missions, and predict the demise of the Atlas V and the need to replace it unless the ban is lifted… and yet they have enough to be a reliable launch provide for the ISS? Like… what? And when did they do the work to Man-Rate the Atlas V. Last I heard there were still hundreds of changes needed.

    This is what has bothered me from the beginning regarding Boeing’s capsule, and also Dreamchaser. Building the manned vehicle itself is fine, but getting up into orbit is something that wasn’t talked about nearly enough, especially in comparison to SpaceX, which featured Falcon family capabilities being as big a selling point as the Dragon capsule, which until not too long ago, was mostly long out of date concept art. Both Boeing and Sierra Nevada pretty much just “assumed” the Atlas V will be the vehicle, it seems like, but there is a hard limit on them now… right?

    But I mean, ULA deserves this. Do they ever deserve it. They deserve it in the way Microsoft deserve to see Chrome devour Internet Explorer’s userbase. They kept kicking the domestic RD-180 production can further and further down the road until everybody forgot about it (probably always the intent), and then, compared to SpaceX, sat on their hands since the first Delta IV Heavy in 2004, content in their monopoly. A 10 year break on innovation put them 10 years behind SpaceX.

    If I were them, I’d start figuring out how to land rockets with legs yesterday, so when SpaceX gains that operationally, they don’t fall hopelessly behind. At least if they start today, maybe they’ll have them a decade from now.

    1. ULA can still purchase and use RD-180 engines for commercial launches, just not for military / NRO launches.

  4. Imagine a suborbital flight on one of the strap on boosters of a Falcon Heavy!
    You could do it in a used Dragon V2, or maybe even Blue Origin suborbital capsule!

    You want to ride the booster all the way back to SpaceX landing pad, or would you prefer A Dragon propulsive landing or an old fashion water landing?
    As reusable rockets become more dependable, I see no reason why this would not be possible??
    Seems to me that Falcon Heavy first stages should have enough margin? And it would be a great service for those of us that can’t afford orbital flights!!!
    Falcon Heavy launching 21 customers, 7 to orbit 14 on a suborbital thrill ride 🙂

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