Fwd: Boeing showcases CST-100 at KSC

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: June 10, 2014 11:38:17 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Boeing showcases CST-100 at KSC

 

 

Boeing showcases capsule that could become 'taxi' to space station

By Richard Burnett, Orlando Sentinel

6:25 p.m. EDT, June 9, 2014

Aerospace giant Boeing Co. rolled out a model of its next-generation space capsule on Monday — one the company hopes will become NASA's "taxi" to take astronauts to the International Space Station.

Boeing showcased its new spacecraft design at the company's Kennedy Space Center operation, which would be home base for production of the spacecraft and hundreds of jobs if it is selected by NASA for the lucrative work. The capsule, which holds up to seven astronauts, is known as the CST-100, for "Crew Space Transportation."

The capsule's exterior looks much like those of the Apollo era, but inside, it couldn't be more different. Wireless touch screens and other digital systems replace gauges and wires. Gone is the cold military cockpit feel, replaced by cool mood lighting and ergonomic seats.

"This is just fantastic," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who rode aboard a space shuttle in 1986. "It's the first time I've seen it, and I have to say it looks a lot more comfortable that what we used to sit in."

Boeing demonstrated the full-scale CST-100 mockup for the first time in Florida as its battle for the lucrative contract enters the final months of a two-year competition against SpaceX of the Los Angeles area and Sierra Nevada Corp., based in Las Vegas.

SpaceX showcased its Dragon V2 capsule in California about two weeks ago. Sierra Nevada has held a series of events detailing its DreamChaser "mini-shuttle."

In September, NASA is expected to name a winner of the new Commercial Crew Development program – the agency's first manned spaceflight program since retiring the shuttle in 2011. The first

launch using the new spacecraft is scheduled for 2017. Without the shuttle, NASA has been relying on the Russian space program to get U.S. astronauts to the station.

NASA's budget allocates nearly $700 million for the new commercial vehicle, though the entire program would be worth far more over the next decade or so. NASA awarded the competitors contracts worth more than $1.1 billion in 2012 to develop the new spacecraft.

The space agency also could buy more than one of the rival systems to carry astronauts and cargo to the ISS and commercial space stations, industry observers say.

"From NASA's point of view, maybe the dual approach would be the logical way to go," said Roger Handberg, an aerospace expert and political science professor at the University of Central Florida. "You would lower your risk and not get locked into something that may not work out."

Although all three companies have established operations at the Space Coast, a Boeing win appears to have the most local impact in new jobs.

The company plans to bring as many 600 jobs from across the country to its KSC operation, which is housed in a former NASA space shuttle processing hangar and leased from Space Florida, the state's public-private space advocacy agency.

"If we are selected, we have a transition plan that would take effect immediately to move workers from Houston, Huntington Beach [Calif.] and other places," said John Elbon, Boeing's vice president for space exploration. "We'll staff up significantly by early 2015, and that is going make for a really nice impact for the Space Coast."

rburnett@tribune.com or 407-420-5256

 

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