commercial crew
NASA orders five more astronaut transportation flights from SpaceX for $1.4 billion
NASA has finalized an agreement with SpaceX to purchase five more astronaut transportation missions to and from the International Space Station, further entrenching the space company’s position as the prime…
Watch the Crew-4 mission launch at the crack of dawn in ‘Freedom’ Dragon capsule
Update: The launch was successful and they should dock this evening as planned. Update 2: All aboard! The International Space Station will receive a few fresh faces tomorrow morning, along…
Launchpad hiccups indefinitely delay Boeing’s troubled Starliner orbital test
Boeing’s Starliner capsule is leaving the launchpad after a series of delays that prevented takeoff over the last few days. NASA and the beleaguered aerospace giant will take “whatever time…
SpaceX successfully launches astronauts with a re-used Dragon spacecraft for the first time
SpaceX has another successful human space launch to its credit, after a good takeoff and orbital delivery of its Crew Dragon spacecraft on Friday morning. The Dragon took off aboard…
SpaceX made history today, flying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to space aboard its Crew Dragon spacecraft using a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch, titled ‘Demo-2’, is for…
Up close with the fresh new spacesuits astronauts will soon wear in orbit for the first time
Inside the first American spacecraft to take humans to orbit since the Space Shuttle, launching today, are, well, humans. And those humans are wearing brand new spacesuits that are also…
‘This is certainly different’: Astronauts on controlling the Dragon spacecraft via touchscreen
Building a brand new spacecraft means knowing when to innovate and when to stick to flight-proven methods, and for Crew Dragon, SpaceX decided to ditch the buttons and dials and…
Watch how SpaceX’s first human spacecraft performed during its key in-flight escape test
SpaceX is getting ready to launch its first-ever spacecraft with humans on board, the Commercial Crew Demo-2 mission (DM-2) that will take off from Florida on May 27. There are…
NASA may start using private suborbital flights to train astronauts
Astronauts may make a second home of space, but even they have a first time going up. NASA is hoping to better prepare its crews for the challenges of space…
Coronavirus rattles NASA, but Commercial Crew and Mars Perseverance rover are on track
Most of NASA’s facilities around the country have been shut down, and while some teams can work (and drive a Mars rover) from home, others are knuckling down to get…
Working from home is easy for some and difficult for others, but one place it’s downright impossible is the International Space Station. So pandemic or no pandemic, the latest crew…
NASA still tracking towards mid-to-late May SpaceX crew launch despite parachute mishap
NASA provided an official update about the status of its Commercial Crew program, the project it’s working on with partners SpaceX and Boeing to return astronaut launch capabilities to American…
SpaceX has thus far managed to avoid much in the way of impact to its upcoming launch schedule despite the widespread global coronavirus pandemic. The company successfully launched 60 more…
NASA boosts existing astronaut health protection measures in light of coronavirus
NASA is supplementing its standard protocols and processes for ensuring the health of the astronauts meant to take part in the initial commercial crew spaceflight program with added measures designed…
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is now in Florida to prep for its first flight with astronauts onboard
SpaceX has moved its Crew Dragon commercial astronaut spacecraft to Florida, the site from which it’ll launch in likely just two to three months if all goes to plan. The…
SpaceX is getting very close to its goal of flying actual astronauts aboard its Crew Dragon spacecraft. After a successful in-flight abort (IFA) test in January, it had basically crossed…
NASA’s mission to once again fly astronauts from US soil readies for key milestone with Friday launch
NASA and partners Boeing and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) are gearing up for a crucial milestone moment on Friday: The “Orbital Flight Test” (OFT) of the Boeing Starliner CST-100…
Boeing’s Starliner crew spacecraft launch pad abort test is a success
NASA’s commercial crew partner Boeing has achieved a key milestone on the way to actually flying astronauts aboard its CST-100 Starliner: Demonstrating that its launch pad abort system works as…
Watch live as NASA and Boeing test the Starliner crew spacecraft launch pad abort system
NASA’s commercial crew program Boeing will run a key test today of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, a new spacecraft developed by the aerospace company to bring American astronauts to the…
SpaceX achieves key milestone in safety testing of Crew Dragon spacecraft
SpaceX has managed to run 13 successful parachute tests in a row of the third major revision of the parachute system it’s planning to use for its Crew Dragon spacecraft.…
NASA Administrator ‘very confident’ SpaceX crew launch could happen in early 2020
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was at SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, Calif. on Thursday, delivering an address alongside NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who will launch aboard SpaceX’s commercial…
We may be poised on the precipice of a new era of spaceflight, but leaping prematurely off it would be a costly mistake — which is why the delays and…
The Commercial Crew program is well on its way to changing the way the world accesses space, but SpaceX may hog the glory this year if rival Boeing keeps putting…
SpaceX makes history by completing first private crew capsule mission
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has safely splashed down in the Atlantic, making it the first privately built crew-capable spacecraft ever to complete a mission to the International Space Station. It’s…
After years of development and delays, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is ready to launch into orbit. It’s the first commercially built and operated crewed spacecraft ever to do so, and represents…
SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew capsule test dates slip yet again
One of the most important upcoming events in the space industry is undoubtedly the advent of SpaceX and Boeing’s competing crew-bearing capsules, which the companies have been working on for…
Boeing shows off the spacesuit astronauts will wear on the Starliner
The commercial spaceflight industry is doing a great job creating new rockets, launch vehicles and all that good stuff, but spacesuits have seen few alterations. Until now. Boeing has publicly…
