Boeing and NASA’s Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) at Johnson Space Center have collaborated to provide mission planning, training and flight operations for its reusable capsule-shaped Commercial Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft.
Under the current Phase 2 NASA Space Act Agreement for Commercial Crew Development, Boeing will negotiate with the MOD on incorporating launch operations and its own mission control facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US, with training and real-time operations at the space agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Boeing commercial crew programme crew and mission operations director, Chris Ferguson, said: "As we continue to mature our spacecraft design, MOD technical support will ensure the CST-100 is built with the operators in mind."
Boeing is also planning to collaborate with the MOD on end-to-end flight operations from the command and control facility in the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center later this year.
"Colocating initial CST-100 flight operations with the International Space Station flight control facility in the Mission Control Center will facilitate a seamless transition to regularly scheduled CST-100 operations with the space station," Ferguson added.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData"Working with MOD on Boeing’s mission operations also will help NASA retain key proficiencies for future human spaceflight operations."
The CST-100, which can transport about seven people or a combination of people and cargo, is compatible with various expendable rockets and is claimed to deliver reduced expenses over the programme life cycle.
Boeing said that the initial test flights for CST-100 are planned to be performed in early 2015 aboard United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle.
The development of the CST-100 system design is being performed at the company’s Houston and Huntington Beach sites and is expected to manufacture, assemble and test the CST-100 spacecraft in its earlier Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at Kennedy Space Center.
Boeing’s Commercial Crew Programme comprises the design, manufacture, test and evaluation, and demonstration of an incorporated Commercial Crew Transportation System, which includes the CST-100 spacecraft, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations for NASA’s Commercial Crew Development programme.
According to Boeing, the CST-100 will be deployed to offer crewed flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and support the Bigelow Aerospace orbital space complex.
Image: The CST-100, capable of transporting a combination of people and cargo, will offer crewed flights to the International Space Station (ISS). Photo: Boeing image.
