Posted on 06/13/2014 2:00:06 PM PDT by Red Badger
On Monday, June 9, Boeing revealed the design of their CST-100 astronaut spaceliner aimed at restoring Americas ability to launch our astronauts to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and the International Space Station (ISS) by 2017.
The full scale CST-100 mockup was unveiled at an invitation only ceremony for Boeing executives and media held inside a newly renovated shuttle era facility at the Kennedy Space Center where the capsule would start being manufactured later this year.
The CST-100 is a privately built manrated capsule being developed with funding from NASA under the auspices of the agency's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) in a public/private partnership between NASA and private industry.
The vehicle will be assembled inside the refurbished processing hangar known during the shuttle era as Orbiter Processing Facility-3 (OPF-3). Boeing is leasing the site from Space Florida.
Boeing is one of three American aerospace firms vying for a NASA contract to build an American 'space taxi' to ferry US astronauts to the space station and back as soon as 2017.
The SpaceX Dragon and Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser are also receiving funds from NASA commercial crew program.
NASA will award one or more contracts to build Americas next human rated spaceship in August or September.
Since the forced shutdown of NASA's Space Shuttle program following its final flight in 2011, US astronauts have been 100% dependent on the Russians and their cramped but effective Soyuz capsule for rides to the station and back at a cost exceeding $70 million per seat.
Chris Ferguson, the final shuttle commander for NASA's last shuttle flight (STS-135) now serves as director of Boeing's Crew and Mission Operations.
Ferguson and the Boeing team are determined to get Americans back into space from American soil with American rockets.
Boeings commercial CST-100 Space Taxi will carry a crew of five astronauts to low Earth orbit and the ISS from US soil. Mockup with astronaut mannequins seated below pilot console and Samsung tablets was unveiled on June 9, 2014 at its planned manufacturing facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
Hatch opening to Boeings commercial CST-100 crew transporter. Credit: Ken Kremer
Boeing unveiled full scale mockup of their commercial CST-100 Space Taxi on June 9, 2014 at its intended manufacturing facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The private vehicle will launch US astronauts to low Earth orbit and the ISS from US soil. Credit: Ken Kremer
It’s just like the Apollo era command module. Isn’t this a step backwards?
CC
Frankly, yes it is.
The Space Shuttle was a fantastic flying machine and another newer, safer design for another Shuttle should be implemented.
Exactly. We did this in the late 60’s.
ya , back to spam in a can
Using this regression of space travel as an example, if the government were in charge of development of flight we should be changing back to propeller driven planes by now.
Yep, take everything we learned from the space shuttles and apply it to a new vehicle.
if we did that we’d still appear like the last superpower. barack the destroyer can’t have that happen.
All things old are new again.
Here's the Orion Module.
Yeah, it's the same shape as the Boeing and the Apollo, but it really does have capabilities quite in advance of the Apollo.
Perhaps, but then, the shuttle turned out not to be cost effective. A reusable "do everything" vehicle simply can't compete with simpler, cheaper, specialized yet "cookie-cutter" equipment designed from the ground up for one particular type of mission (such as a low orbit taxi for astronauts).
Imagine the design the affirmative-action gov run NASA would come up with. Just the thought...
Seven person MAX capacity?
What will OSHA say if they have to use this to rescue 8 persons at the ISS?
1. This is a model, not real hardware, and 2. Spacex looks well ahead of this.
They have gone back to the teardrop shape due to reliability reasons and experience with the shuttle, but at least Spacex puts legs on it and has it return powered.
Hmmm...tablets. I wonder if they can watch Netflix while enroute?
What if Putin won’t allow anymore of us back on the space station?
It looks like Boeing's approach is to "go on the cheap" by sacrificing crew comfort and safety during acceleration -- in a second-hand Apollo Command module -- with toy avionics...
No wonder they used mannikins: no human could stay in those padless torture racks long enough to make the photos -- @ one gee!
Has any engineer here ever seen such an outlandish "******-rig"?
It is a mockup meant to provide an overall idea of the design.
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