NASA is getting closer to sending astronauts to Mars

By EUGENE SCOTT CNN

10 years ago

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is being prepared for a test to simulate an emergency abort from the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 40. The ability to escape from a launch or pad emergency and safely carry the crew out of harm’s way is a crucial element for NASA’s next generation of crew spacecraft. SpaceX will perform the test under its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with NASA, and will use the data gathered during the development flight as it continues on the path to certification. (CNN)

NASA has selected experienced astronauts Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita Williams to work closely with The Boeing Company and SpaceX to develop their crew transportation systems and provide crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station. (CNN)

Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser engineering test article is being prepped for its second free-flight test at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California later this year. The wings, windows and landing gear are all installed. The Dream Chaser’s nose skid will have thermal protection system tiles, manufactured at Kennedy Space Center’s Thermal Protection System Facility, for the flight test. The performance of the tiles will be assessed following touch down on the runway. The flight test is a milestone under NASA’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with SNC. Credit: Sierra Nevada Corp. (CNN)

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is being prepared for a test to simulate an emergency abort from the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 40. The ability to escape from a launch or pad emergency and safely carry the crew out of harm’s way is a crucial element for NASA’s next generation of crew spacecraft. SpaceX will perform the test under its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with NASA, and will use the data gathered during the development flight as it continues on the path to certification. (CNN)

NASA took a key step forward in the goal to eventually land a person on Mars on Thursday.

Robert Behnken, Sunita Williams, Eric Boe and Douglas Hurley will train to fly to space on commercial crew vehicles, NASA said.

“We are on a journey to Mars, and in order to meet our goals for sending American astronauts to the Red Planet in the 2030s we need to be able to focus both on deep space and the groundbreaking work being done on the International Space Station,” said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden.

The commercial crew initiative is part of the agency’s plan to return space launches to U.S. soil. NASA is working towards a 2017 launch.

“For as long as I’ve been administrator, President Obama has made it very clear that returning the launches of American astronauts to American soil is a top priority — and he has persistently supported this initiative in his budget requests to Congress,” Bolden said.

Training for these flights starts immediately and will create more jobs, officials said. More than 350 American companies in 36 states are working on the commercial crew initiative.

“There are real economic benefits to bolstering America’s emerging commercial space market,” Bolden said. “Every dollar we invest in commercial crew is a dollar we invest in ourselves, rather than in the Russian economy.”

It costs $76 million per astronaut to fly on a Russian spacecraft, Bolden said. The average cost on an American-owned aircraft will be $58 million per astronaut.