90-555: Development of the Commercial Crew Program (CCDev) began in the second round of the program, which was rescoped from a smaller technology development program for human spaceflight to a competitive development program that would produce the spacecraft to be used to provide crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). To implement the program, NASA awarded
180-486: A Space Launch System (SLS) booster. The NASA had no human-qualified spacecraft available, and in any event SLS/Orion would be too expensive for routine flights to the ISS. In the meantime, NASA continued to send astronauts to the ISS on Soyuz spacecraft seats purchased from Russia. The price varied over time, with the batch of seats from 2016 to 2017 costing $ 70.7 million per passenger per flight. Artemis continued to slip, with
270-699: A Senior NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal , and the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives . In 2003, he received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives. Also that year he received the Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award, Purdue University. In 2004, Gerstenmaier was selected as a finalist for the Service to America Medal, for "Leading the efforts to continue
360-727: A Starliner capsule will return on land with airbags at one of four designated sites in the western United States. Development of the Commercial Crew Program began in 2011 as NASA shifted from internal development of crewed vehicles to perform ISS crew rotation to commercial industry development of transport to the ISS. A series of open competitions over the following two years saw successful bids from Boeing, Blue Origin , Sierra Nevada , and SpaceX to develop proposals for ISS crew transport vehicles. In 2014, NASA awarded separate fixed-price contracts to Boeing and SpaceX to develop their respective systems and to fly astronauts to
450-436: A capsule can be reused up to fifteen times. Crew Dragon spacecraft can spend up to a week in free flight without being docked to the ISS. Each Crew Dragon capsule is equipped with a launch escape system consisting of eight of SpaceX's SuperDraco engines, which provide 71,000 newtons (16,000 pounds-force) of thrust each. These engines were originally intended to also perform a propulsive landing upon return to Earth, with
540-482: A contingency if Starliner is further delayed and to ensure service to the ISS until 2030. SpaceX's Crew-1 mission, the first operational flight in the program, carried Victor Glover , Mike Hopkins , Soichi Noguchi , and Shannon Walker to the ISS in November 2020 aboard Resilience . Resilience was originally planned to be used for Crew-2 , but was reassigned following a scheduling change resulting from
630-401: A crewed certification flight, then up to six operational flights to the ISS. The first flight of the Commercial Crew Program was planned to occur in 2015, but insufficient funding caused delays. As the spacecraft entered the testing and production phase, technical issues also caused delays, especially the parachute system, propulsion, and the launch abort system of both capsules. In July 2018,
720-555: A draft request for proposals (RFP). The final RFP was released on February 7, 2012, with proposals due on March 23, 2012. The funded Space Act Agreements were awarded on August 3, 2012, and amended on August 15, 2013. The selected proposals were announced August 3, 2012: The first phase of the Certification Products Contract (CPC) involved the development of a certification plan with engineering standards, tests, and analyses. Winners of funding of phase 1 of
810-583: A part of the Soyuz-Dragon crew swap system, that is, keeping at least one NASA astronaut and one Roscosmos cosmonaut on each of the crew rotation missions. That would ensure both countries would have a presence on the station, and ability to maintain their separate systems, if either Soyuz or commercial crew vehicles are grounded for an extended period. On 3 December 2021, NASA made clear it would secure up to an additional three flights from SpaceX to maintain an uninterrupted U.S. capability for human access to
900-458: A series of competitive fixed-price contracts to private vendors starting in 2011. Operational contracts to fly astronauts were awarded in September 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing , and NASA expected each company to complete development and achieve crew rating in 2017. Each company performed an uncrewed orbital test flight in 2019. SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-1 2019 flight of Dragon 2 arrived at
990-539: A sole-source contract, arguing that it needed the Commercial Crew Program's full budget to develop its Starliner capsule. While Gerstenmaier considered the Starliner proposal as stronger, he was hesitant to award a sole-source contract. The multi-year Commercial Crew Program had been designed to foster competition and redundancy, and Gerstenmaier believed that selecting just one company would undermine these goals. Through his efforts, he successfully convinced NASA to delay
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#17327752613281080-472: A test anomaly was reported in which there was a hypergolic propellant leak due to several faulty abort system valves. Consequentially, the first unpiloted orbital mission was delayed to April 2019, and the first crew launch rescheduled to August 2019. In March 2019, Reuters reported these test flights had been delayed by at least three months, and in April 2019 Boeing announced that the unpiloted orbital mission
1170-522: Is a variant of the company's Dragon 2 class of spacecraft, which is an upgraded version of the first-generation Dragon. It measures 3.7 meters (12 feet) wide, 4.4 meters (14 feet) tall without its trunk, and 7.2 meters (24 feet) with its trunk. While trunks are discarded prior to capsule reentry, crew cabins are designed to be reusable. After earlier plans of SpaceX to use new capsules for every crewed flight for NASA both agreed to reuse Crew Dragon capsules for NASA flights. In 2022, SpaceX stated that
1260-504: Is also equipped to perform a splashdown return. Boeing's CCtCap contract values each seat on a CST-100 flight to be between US$ 91–99 million, while the face value of each seat has been estimated by NASA's OIG to be around US$ 90 million. NASA missions to the ISS launch on an average every six months. As part of the original contracts Boeing and SpaceX each were initially contracted for up to six operational flights. NASA later contracted with SpaceX for up to an additional eight flights as
1350-603: Is contracted with NASA for fourteen operational flights total to the ISS. The 2019 Boeing Orbital Flight Test of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft failed to reach the ISS in December 2019. The second test flight, Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2 , occurred successfully in May 2022. Pending completion of its demonstration flights, Boeing is contracted to supply six operational flights to the ISS. The first group of astronauts
1440-543: Is required to successfully complete abort testing, an uncrewed orbital flight test, and a crewed orbital flight test to meet NASA's requirements for human-rating certification . The agency did allow the companies to propose how they would complete the required tests, with Boeing opting not to perform an in-flight abort test, which NASA approved. Crew Dragon completed its flight tests in mid-2020 and began operational flights in November 2020. NASA will decide after September 2024 if Boeing has met its certification requirements after
1530-746: The Aldridge Commission – established by President George W. Bush following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster – called for crewed flights to the Moon with a Crew Exploration Vehicle in its final report. Following the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 , the Constellation program was established, which envisioned a revised Crew Exploration Vehicle named Orion conducting crew rotation flights to
1620-576: The Boeing Pad Abort Test in November 2019. NASA accepted the test as successful even though one of three parachutes failed to deploy, since the system landed as designed under two parachutes. Boeing conducted the Orbital Flight Test in December 2019 and encountered major malfunctions of Starliner's software which precluded an intended docking with the ISS and prompted a truncation of the mission. The Orbital Flight Test
1710-401: The CST-100 Starliner . SpaceX had previously been contracted by NASA to operate ISS resupply flights with their Dragon spacecraft, as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services . The program's third round, Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap), aimed to financially support the development of winning proposals over 21 months through to May 2014, in preparation for crewed missions to
1800-507: The Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational no earlier than 2025. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030. The spacecraft are owned and operated by the vendor, and crew transportation is provided to NASA as a commercial service. Each mission sends up to four astronauts to
1890-567: The Distinguished Alumni Award , "For outstanding accomplishments in a career dedicated to the human exploration of space and international cooperation in space." In November 2008 he was honored again at Purdue as an Old Master in the 2008 Old Masters Program. Gerstenmaier received the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy in 2010, Space Transportation Leadership Award, 2011,
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#17327752613281980-577: The International Docking System Standard (IDSS). The NASA Docking System implementation is used by Starliner and ISS, while Crew Dragon uses a compatible IDSS implementation developed by SpaceX. The IDSS docks are used instead of the Common Berthing Mechanism used by previous Commercial Orbital Transportation Services spacecraft such as the first-generation Dragon . SpaceX's Crew Dragon
2070-634: The International Space Station (ISS) in addition to its lunar exploration goals. Orion superseded the Orbital Space Plane , which was specifically designed for ISS crew rotation. In 2009, the Augustine Commission appointed by President Barack Obama found that the program's funding and resources were insufficient to execute its goals without significant delays to its schedule and an increase of US$ 3 billion in funding, which prompted NASA to start considering alternatives to
2160-776: The Lewis Research Center (now called the John Glenn Research Center) in Ohio , beginning his career with NASA. Initially doing research with supersonic wind tunnels , developing air data curve information used during entry on the Space Shuttle . Gerstenmaier continued his education, obtaining his master's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Toledo in 1981. In 1980, Gerstenmaier moved to Houston , Texas , to work at
2250-572: The Starliner crew back home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Key high-level requirements for the Commercial Crew vehicles include: After the retirement of STS in 2011 and the cancellation of the Constellation program , NASA had no domestic vehicles capable of launching astronauts to space. Artemis , NASA's next major human spaceflight initiative, was scheduled to launch an uncrewed qualification flight in 2016, with an Orion spacecraft atop
2340-574: The Vietnam War , he thought he may not get a chance to fly, and chose to reconsider his path. He transferred to Purdue 's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, hoping to get into flight via academics. During his time at Purdue, Gerstenmaier found a great interest in spaceflight technology, and chose to focus on this area for his career. Gerstenmaier graduated with a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1977, and joined
2430-629: The White Sands Missile Range . Days before a planned launch, Boeing announced in June 2023 that it would delay the Crewed Flight Test indefinitely due to issues with the parachute system and wiring harnesses. The mission entails flying a crew of two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for a one-week test flight. The Crewed Flight Test successfully launched on June 5, 2024. The Starliner spacecraft docked to
2520-595: The CCtCap announcement and secure additional funding to support two competing efforts. After four decades with the agency, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced on July 10, 2019, that Gerstenmaier was being reassigned to a "special advisor" roles, which are typically considered a demotion and a way to push civil servants who can not be fired out of the agency. No reason was given for the reassignment. SpaceX hired Gerstenmaier away from NASA in February 2020 in what
2610-543: The CPC, announced on December 10, 2012, were: The Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) is the second phase of the CPC and included the final development, testing and verifications to allow crewed demonstration flights to the ISS. NASA issued the draft CCtCap contract's Request For Proposals (RFP) on July 19, 2013, with a response date of August 15, 2013. On September 16, 2014, NASA announced that Boeing and SpaceX had received contracts to provide crewed launch services to
2700-519: The Commercial Crew Program was planned to occur in 2015, but insufficient funding caused delays. For the fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget, US$ 500 million was requested for the CCDev program, but Congress granted only $ 270 million. For the FY 2012 budget, $ 850 million was requested and $ 406 million approved. For the FY 2013 budget, 830 million was requested and $ 488 million approved. For the FY 2014 budget, $ 821 million
2790-645: The Crew-8 mission. Problems with the Boeing spacecraft caused NASA to extend its mission and ultimately to bring the spacecraft back to Earth without crew. The Crew-8 mission was extended and its Dragon was fitted with two additional makeshift crew seats to allow it to serve as a "lifeboat" for the CFT crew if evacuation had been needed before Crew-9 arrived. The Crew-9 launch was delayed and Crew-9 modified to launch with only two crew and two empty seats. When Crew-9 arrived at ISS,
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2880-409: The ISS as planned until 2 May 2021. SpaceX Crew-2 launched on 23 April 2021 and it landed on 9 November 2021, two days before the launch of SpaceX Crew-3 . When Boeing OFT-2 was on the pad preparing for launch on 3 August 2021, problems were encountered with 13 valves in the capsule's propulsion system. The launch was scrubbed, and the capsule eventually returned to the factory. Analysis of the problem
2970-665: The ISS within five years. Despite winning awards in CCDev 1 and CCDev 2, Blue Origin decided against competing in CCiCap, opting instead to rely on private investment from their owner, Jeff Bezos , to continue development on crewed spaceflight. The competition for CCiCap funding ended in August 2012, with US$ 212.5 million allocated to Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser, US$ 440 million allocated to SpaceX's Crew Dragon, and US$ 460 million allocated to Boeing's Starliner. While Alliant Techsystems 's integrated Liberty launch vehicle and spacecraft
3060-440: The ISS, and Crew-4 launched Kjell Lindgren , Bob Hines , Samantha Cristoforetti and Jessica Watkins in April 2022. US astronauts Josh Cassada , Nicole Aunapu Mann and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata initially assigned to Starliner crewed flights were reassigned to Crew-5 mission after delays in the Starliner program. The fourth astronaut on Crew-5 is filled by a Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina and thus becoming to be
3150-553: The ISS. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 allocated US$ 1.3 billion for an expansion of the existing Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program over three years. While the program's first round of competition in 2010 focused on funding development of various human spaceflight technologies in the private sector as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , its second round, CCDev 2, focused on proposals for spacecraft capable of shuttling astronauts to and from
3240-412: The ISS. A Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched to space atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle and the capsule returns to Earth via splashdown in the ocean near Florida. The program's first operational mission, SpaceX Crew-1 , launched on 16 November 2020. Boeing Starliner spacecraft will participate after its final test flight , launched atop an Atlas V N22 launch vehicle. Instead of a splashdown,
3330-580: The ISS. The competition for CCDev 2 funding concluded in April 2011, with Blue Origin receiving US$ 22 million to develop its biconic nose cone capsule concept, SpaceX receiving US$ 75 million to develop a crewed version of their Dragon spacecraft and a human-rated Falcon 9 launch vehicle, the Sierra Nevada Corporation receiving US$ 80 million to develop the Dream Chaser , and Boeing receiving US$ 92.3 million to develop
3420-510: The ISS. Boeing could receive up to US$ 4.2 billion, while SpaceX could receive up to US$ 2.6 billion. Dragon was the less expensive proposal, but NASA's William H. Gerstenmaier considered the Boeing Starliner proposal the stronger of the two. In November 2019 NASA published a first cost per seat estimate: US$ 55 million for SpaceX's Dragon and US$ 90 million for Boeing's Starliner. Boeing was also granted an additional $ 287.2 million above
3510-543: The ISS. Each contract required four successful demonstrations to achieve human rating for the system: pad abort, uncrewed orbital test, launch abort, and crewed orbital test. Operational missions were initially planned to begin in 2017, with missions alternating between the two providers. Delays required NASA to purchase additional seats on Soyuz spacecraft up to Soyuz MS-17 until Crew Dragon missions commenced in 2020. Crew Dragon continues to handle all missions until Starliner becomes operational no earlier than 2025. In 2004,
3600-453: The ISS. Operational flights occur approximately once every six months for missions that last for approximately six months. A spacecraft remains docked to the ISS during its mission, and missions usually overlap by at least a few days. Between the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and the first operational CCP mission in 2020, NASA relied on the Soyuz program to transport its astronauts to
3690-665: The International Space Station Program. In June 2002, Gerstenmaier was promoted to Program Manager of the International Space Station , overseeing the management, development, operation, and integration of the station for NASA. Gerstenmaier's time with the ISS team, came as the first crews began to occupy the station and the US Orbital Segment was under heavy construction. Gerstenmaier was promoted to Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations in 2005. While in that role, he
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3780-606: The International Space Station in March 2019 and returned via splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. After completion of its test series, a Crew Dragon spacecraft made its first operational Commercial Crew Program flight, SpaceX Crew-1 . The flight launched on November 16, 2020. As of September 2023 SpaceX has completed seven successful CCP flights with another, SpaceX Crew-8 , currently in progress. It
3870-605: The International Space Station the next day after troubleshooting issues with the thrusters on the vehicle. After more thruster testing, both in space and using another Starliner vehicle on Earth, NASA announced on August 24, 2024, that the two astronauts on the mission, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams , will not return to earth on Starliner, but instead fly back on Crew Dragon with the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. The Starliner spacecraft will return to Earth autonomously, with no crew onboard, in September 2024. The first flight of
3960-749: The Johnson Space Center, researching propulsion related to the Space Shuttle, and was involved in the earliest phases of the International Space Station design. In 1984, he was a semi-finalist in the selection for NASA Astronaut Group 10 . In 1988, he first served as manager of Space Shuttle Program Integration, and then went on to serve as head of the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle Operations Office. Following that, he became Director of Space Shuttle and Space Station Freedom Assembly Operations, and
4050-441: The Space Shuttle fleet's retirement. Funded proposals: Proposals selected without NASA funding: Proposals not selected: Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap) was originally called CCDev 3. For this phase of the program, NASA wanted proposals to be complete, end-to-end concepts of operation, including spacecraft, launch vehicles, launch services, ground and mission operations, and recovery. In September 2011, NASA released
4140-489: The Space Shuttle program in which the US Orbital Segment of the ISS was completely staffed with four crew. Crew-2 launched in April 2021, using a previously-flown Falcon 9 first-stage booster and a refurbished Crew Dragon for the first time. The mission carried Shane Kimbrough , Megan McArthur , Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet aboard Endeavour . Crew-3 launched in November 2021, carrying Thomas Marshburn , Raja Chari , Matthias Maurer and Kayla Barron to
4230-790: The Starliner-2 flight. The CCP spacecraft missions usually overlap with brief intervals during which two are docked at the same time. Crew-2 did not overlap with Crew-3 because of an unexpected delay of the Crew-3 launch. Sources Citations Notes William H. Gerstenmaier William H. Gerstenmaier (born September 28, 1954) is an aerospace engineer and policymaker who is the Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX . He previously served as NASA 's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations between 2005 and July 10, 2019. While in that role, he
4320-413: The accidental destruction of C204 during testing. While NASA astronauts were given assignments to either Crew Dragon or Starliner flights, Noguchi – a JAXA astronaut – was open for assignment to whichever spacecraft would launch the first operational mission. With Chris Cassidy having arrived at the ISS during Soyuz MS-16 , the arrival of the astronauts aboard Resilience marked the first time since
4410-459: The astronauts chosen to pilot the Crew Dragon and Starliner vehicles in August 2018, and two months later penned the launch of demonstration missions for the Crew Dragon and Starliner for dates in 2019. The uncrewed SpaceX Demo-1 mission was launched on 2 March 2019, in which a Crew Dragon successfully docked with the ISS and returned to Earth six days after launch. The capsule used in
4500-520: The company as its Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability. In this role, Gerstenmaier has the responsibility for the safe completion of SpaceX missions. Gerstenmaier has twice been awarded the Aviation Week and Space Technology's Laureate Award for "Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Space" , as well as three NASA Certificates of Commendation , two NASA Exceptional Service Medals ,
4590-462: The crew of CFT became members of the Crew-9 crew and will return on Crew-9 at the end of its mission. As of October 2024 , the first operational flight has not been scheduled. It depends on successful completion of a Crewed Flight Test . NASA hopes to extend the seat-swapping arrangement with Roscosmos to include Starliner flights after Starliner has enough flights, which will be no earlier than
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#17327752613284680-629: The development of a full certification plan. Finally CCtCap contracts were awarded for actual demonstration of crewed transportation services, which included development, testing, and production of the required hardware followed by operational flights to the ISS. Commercial Crew Development phase 1 (CCDev 1) consisted of $ 50 million awarded in 2010 to five US companies to develop human spaceflight concepts and technologies. NASA awarded development funds to five companies under CCDev 1: On April 18, 2011, NASA awarded nearly $ 270 million to four companies for developing U.S. vehicles that could fly astronauts after
4770-576: The event that operational missions in the program are further delayed, with the purchase of additional Soyuz seats beyond MS-17 being described as a possibility. The SpaceX In-Flight Abort Test was successfully conducted in January 2020, setting the stage for the final, crewed test flight of Crew Dragon – SpaceX Demo-2 – which launched astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS in May 2020. SpaceX launched its first operational flight, SpaceX Crew-1 , on 16 November 2020. It stayed docked to
4860-531: The final phase of the CCDev program, where NASA would certify an operator to run crewed flights to the ISS through an open competition. The window for proposal submissions was closed on 22 January 2014. Sierra Nevada announced a week later that a privately funded orbital test flight of a Dream Chaser spacecraft, using an Atlas V launch vehicle intended to be purchased by Sierra Nevada, was planned to occur on 1 November 2016. On 16 September 2014, CCtCap concluded with SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner being
4950-443: The first contract extension (missions 7, 8, and 9) is $ 258.7 million ($ 64.6 million/seat), and per-mission cost for the second contract extension (missions 10 through 14) is $ 288 million ($ 72 million/seat). Boeing's CST-100 Starliner – "CST" an acronym for "Crew Space Transportation" – measures 4.6 meters (15 feet) in diameter and 5.1 meters (17 feet) in height. The crew module of Starliner can be reused for up to ten flights, while
5040-504: The first splashdown in 45 years for NASA astronauts since the first Apollo–Soyuz U.S./U.S.S.R international space mission in July 1975, as well as the first splashdown of a crew spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico. Shortly before the scheduled launch of the second orbital flight test in August 2021, routine pre-launch testing showed that thirteen valves in the propulsion system were inoperable and
5130-617: The first test vehicle having been equipped for such capabilities, but these plans were ultimately abandoned in favor of a traditional splashdown return near Florida in either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico . SpaceX's CCtCap contract values each seat on a Crew Dragon flight to be between US$ 60–67 million on the first six missions, while the face value of each seat has been estimated by NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to be around US$ 55 million. Per-mission cost for
5220-705: The first uncrewed test flight scheduled for 2022. The CCDev program was initiated to develop safe and reliable commercial ISS crew launch capabilities to replace the Soyuz flights. CCDev followed Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS), an ISS commercial cargo program. CCDev contracts were issued for fixed-price, pay-for-performance milestones. CCDev was implemented in several phases. CCDev 1 contracts were for development of concepts and technologies. CCDev 2 contracts were for actual vehicle designs. CCiCap contracts were for designs of complete end-to-end crew transportation hardware and services. CPC phase 1 contracts were for
5310-506: The fixed price contract. Seats on Soyuz had an average cost of US$ 80 million. However, adjusting for the additional cargo carried by Boeing's Starliner inside its crew capsule, the adjusted cost per seat figure is approximately $ 70 million, which is still higher than SpaceX's Crew Dragon even if the Dragon does not carry the equivalent of a fifth passenger in cargo. Both the CST-100 Starliner and Crew Dragon were to fly an uncrewed flight, then
5400-571: The launch was scrubbed. The problem required extensive analysis that was still ongoing in October 2021, and NASA and Boeing estimated that a new launch date would be scheduled in the first half of 2022. Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 2 launched as part of the Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2 , on May 19, 2022. It successfully docked on May 21, where it stayed for four days. On May 25, the spacecraft undocked and landed successfully in
5490-595: The loss of AMOS-6 in an accidental launch pad explosion of a Falcon 9 , the Crew Dragon's launch vehicle. With no further flights in the Soyuz program for American astronauts past 2018, the GAO expressed concerns and recommended in February 2017 that NASA develop a plan for crew rotation in the event of further delays. Following the settlement of a lawsuit against Russian space manufacturer Energia over Sea Launch , Boeing received options for up to five seats on Soyuz flights, which NASA purchased from Boeing. NASA announced
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#17327752613285580-434: The mission, however, was accidentally destroyed in a static fire test of its SuperDraco engines in April 2019, causing further delays to launch of future Crew Dragon flights. The Boeing Orbital Flight Test and Boeing Crew Flight Test , which had both been delayed due to a failed test of Starliner's abort system, were further pushed without explanation from dates in early-to-mid 2019 to late 2019. Boeing conducted
5670-993: The orbital insertion burn, following separation from the Centaur upper stage during launch. Once in space, Starliner spacecraft can survive up to 60 hours in free flight. Unlike Crew Dragon, Starliner is designed to return to Earth on land instead of ocean, using airbags to cushion the vehicle's impact with the ground. Four sites in the western contiguous United States – the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah , Edwards Air Force Base in California , White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico , and Willcox Playa in Arizona – will serve as landing ranges for returning Starliner spacecraft, though in an emergency scenario, it
5760-478: The other type of spacecraft is grounded. On 31 August 2022, NASA awarded SpaceX with an additional 5 flights bringing the total number of contracted Crew Dragon flights to 14. The additional flights will run through 2030. The Crew-8 and Crew-9 missions were both modified in response to the unexpected need to support the crew of the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), which visited ISS during
5850-522: The per seat pricing as they believe the cost is lower than $ 90 million given its cargo capacity. Boeing's reasoning for the extra funding was due to a later start to its development than SpaceX with comparable deadlines. Boeing also stated it committed to the program. The funding of all commercial crew contractors for each phase of the CCP program is as follows—CCtCap values are maxima and include six post-development operational flights for each vendor. Each system
5940-440: The problems experienced on its crew flight test. Commercial Crew Program The Commercial Crew Program ( CCP ) provides commercially operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA , conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program . American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using
6030-434: The program. The Constellation program was officially cancelled in 2010, with NASA repurposing Orion for exploration beyond Earth, and collaborating with commercial partners for ISS crew rotation and other crewed activities in low Earth orbit following the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. This arrangement would additionally end NASA's dependency on Roscosmos ' Soyuz program to deliver its astronauts to
6120-416: The program; an extension to occupy a fifth seat is available to NASA. Both spacecraft are certified to last up to 210 days docked to the ISS. In addition, the spacecraft were designed to meet NASA's per-mission safety standard of a 1-in-270 chance of catastrophic failure , which is less risky than the 1-in-90 chance of the Space Shuttle. The spacecraft and the ISS have docking mechanisms that implement
6210-480: The protest, citing concerns for crewed operations of the ISS in the event of a delay to the Commercial Crew Program. The GAO declined Sierra Nevada's protest in January 2015, stating that evidence gathered by the GAO discredited Sierra Nevada's claims against NASA; Sierra Nevada accepted the decision. The company laid off 90 staff members working on the Dream Chaser following the CCtCap result, and repurposed
6300-557: The safe operation of the International Space Station in the absence of the Space Shuttle, allowing continued research and preservation of its unique capabilities for the future." In 2006, the Huntsville National Space Club awarded him the Von Braun Award. In 2007, The Federation of Galaxy Explorers honored Gerstenmaier with the 2007 Space Leadership Award , and Purdue University honored him with
6390-458: The service module is expended during each flight. Various engines manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne for orbital maneuvering , attitude control , reaction control, and launch escape, are utilized by Starliner. Eight reaction control engines on the spacecraft's crew module and 28 reaction control engines on the spacecraft's service module provide 380 newtons (85 pounds-force) and 445 newtons (100 pounds-force) each, respectively. Also located on
6480-414: The service module, 20 custom-made Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control (OMAC) engines provide 6,700 newtons (1,500 pounds-force) of thrust each, while four RS-88 engines provide 178,000 newtons (40,000 pounds-force) of thrust each in a launch abort scenario. During a nominal flight without a launch abort, Starliner can use unspent fuel reserved for its RS-88 engines to help its OMAC engines perform
6570-499: The sole winners, with SpaceX receiving US$ 2.6 billion contract and Boeing a US$ 4.2 billion contract. Sierra Nevada filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in response, citing "serious questions and inconsistencies in the source selection process." The United States Court of Federal Claims upheld a decision to allow development of the Crew Dragon and Starliner to proceed during
6660-596: The space station. The background to this was that SpaceX was likely to launch its sixth flight in early 2023 potentially before Boeing's first operational flight, and NASA concluded that only SpaceX had the capability needed. NASA and Roscosmos have agreed to an annual seat-swapping agreement for three flights each. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, a Russian cosmonaut will fly on one Crew Dragon flight per year while an American astronaut will fly on one Soyuz flight per year. This arrangement ensures that ISS will have at least one crew member to operate essential services even if one or
6750-469: The space station. The report also states that NASA agreed to pay an additional $ 287.2 million above Boeing's fixed prices to mitigate a perceived 18-month gap in ISS flights anticipated in 2019 and to ensure the contractor continued as a second commercial crew provider, without offering similar opportunities to SpaceX. On November 18, 2019, Boeing's Jim Chilton replied that the inspector general's report failed to list Starliner’s positive features and objected to
6840-626: The spacecraft as a for-hire vehicle for commercial spaceflight. A cargo variant of the Dream Chaser would later be developed and selected by NASA to fly uncrewed resupply missions to the ISS under a Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract. While the first flights of Commercial Crew Program were originally intended to be launched by the end of 2017, Boeing announced in May 2016 that their first crewed flight would be delayed to 2018 due to problems integrating with Starliner's Atlas V N22 launch vehicle. In December 2016, SpaceX announced their first crewed flights would also be delayed to 2018, following
6930-443: The spacecraft reached orbit but was unable to dock with ISS due to a critical software error. Subsequent analysis revealed a second critical software error that could cause the service module to collide with the capsule after separation during the de-orbiting sequence. On May 30, 2020, two astronauts were launched to the ISS with a Crew Dragon as part of Crew Dragon Demo-2 . The end and safe landing of Demo-2 on August 2, 2020, marked
7020-705: The total to fourteen and the total contract value to $ 4.93 billion. The Commercial Crew Program uses the SpaceX Crew Dragon to shuttle astronauts to and from the ISS. The Boeing CST-100 Starliner will join it in this role after it is human-rated. Both spacecraft are automated but can be remotely controlled from the ground or manually controlled by their crew via touch screens in case of an emergency. The crew cabins of both spacecraft feature 11 cubic meters (390 cubic feet) of pressurized volume, and can be configured to carry up to seven crew each, though NASA will only send up to four crew on each mission in
7110-574: Was a finalist, it was rejected due to concerns about the lack of detail in Alliant Techsystems's proposal. In December 2012, the three CCiCap winners were each given an additional USD$ 10 million in funding as the first of two series of "certification products contracts" (CPC) to allow for further testing, engineering standards, and design analysis to meet NASA's safety requirements for crewed spaceflight. The second CPC series manifested as Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap),
7200-416: Was announced on August 3, 2018. The first Starliner crewed flight test launched on June 5, 2024. Starliner successfully docked with the station on June 6, 2024, after suffering several helium leaks and thruster malfunctions. Due to these issues Starliner’s return to earth was delayed initially to June 26, 2024, then indefinitely. On August 24, 2024 NASA administrator Bill Nelson made the decision to send
7290-537: Was declared a "high-visibility close call" by NASA following an independent review, and a second Orbital Flight Test (Boeing OFT-2) was scheduled for July 2021, with Boeing covering the cost of the flight in lieu of additional CCDev funding. Amid further uncertainties about the Commercial Crew Program's progress, NASA purchased a seat on the Soyuz MS-17 mission to ensure participation in Expedition 64 in
7380-414: Was described as "arguably the most influential person when it comes to US spaceflight." He would oversee the Commercial Crew Program that would see NASA pivot from the traditional model of government-owned and operated spacecraft, to one where the agency would act as a customer, purchasing flights as needed. In one particularly critical decision, Gerstenmaier pushed back when Boeing had lobbied NASA for
7470-525: Was described as "arguably the most influential person when it comes to US spaceflight." Prior to being Associate Administrator, Gerstenmaier served as the International Space Station Office Program Manager, at Johnson Space Center , a position he began in June 2002. He spent a total of four decades with NASA. In February 2020, SpaceX announced that Gerstenmaier had joined the company as a consultant. He
7560-541: Was named Chief of the Projects and Facilities Branch of the Flight Design and Dynamics Division. In 1992, Gerstenmaier was given a fellowship from NASA to obtain his doctorate degree from Purdue, and in 1992 and 1993, he completed course work for a doctorate in dynamics and control, with a minor in propulsion at Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics . Of the time away from NASA, he said, "It
7650-409: Was originally announced as a role as a consultant to Hans Koenigsmann , the company's vice president of mission assurance. In February 2020, SpaceX announced that Gerstenmaier had joined the company as a consultant to Hans Koenigsmann , the company's Vice President of Mission Assurance. When Koenigsmann announced he was retiring in February 2021, SpaceX said that Gerstenmaier had agreed to join
7740-566: Was promoted to Vice-president, Build and Flight Reliability, one year later. Gerstenmaier was born in Akron, Ohio , in September 1954 and graduated from East High School in 1973. As a teenager he followed the early space programs of Mercury , Gemini , and Apollo . He had early dreams of being a test pilot , and after high school, enrolled at the United States Naval Academy . After seeing so many pilots returning from
7830-509: Was requested and $ 696 million approved. In FY 2015, $ 848 million was requested and $ 805 million, or 95%, was approved. On November 14, 2019, NASA's inspector general published an auditing report listing per-seat prices of $ 90 million for Starliner and $ 55 million for Dragon Crew. With these, Boeing's price is higher than what NASA has paid the Russian space corporation, Roscosmos, for Soyuz spacecraft seats to fly US and partner-nation astronauts to
7920-492: Was scheduled for August 2019. On April 20, 2019, an issue arose during a static fire test of Crew Dragon. The accident destroyed the capsule which was planned to be used for the In-Flight Abort Test (IFAT). SpaceX confirmed that the capsule exploded. NASA stated that the explosion would delay the planned in-flight abort and crewed orbital tests. During the first orbital flight test of Starliner in December 2019,
8010-483: Was still underway in September 2021 and launch was postponed indefinitely. This uncrewed test, Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2 , launched on 19 May 2022, and landed successfully on 25 May. On February 28, 2022, NASA announced that it had awarded three additional crew missions to SpaceX bringing the total crew missions for SpaceX to nine and the total contract value to $ 3,490,872,904. In September 2022, NASA announced yet another addition, this time of five missions, bringing
8100-627: Was the most humbling experience of my life." In 1995, Gerstenmaier returned to NASA as the Shuttle/ Mir Program Operations Manager, and was the liaison to the Russian Space Agency for operations and protocols. For the first half of 1996, he was stationed in Russia to support astronaut Shannon Lucid , who spent six months aboard Mir. In December 2000, Gerstenmaier was named Deputy Manager of
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