CST-100: First NASA test flight with Boeing

23. 01. 2019
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Boeing has prepared the ship for the transport of astronauts CST-100 Starliner. Now NASA has announced a change of crew for this upcoming flight. For health reasons, Eric Boe will not take part in this flight and will be represented by an experienced astronaut Mike fincke. Fincke flew NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann and Chris Ferguson, who had already flown with NASA.

The crew flight test is scheduled at 2. half of this year, assuming that the test to be held this spring will be no problem.

Mike fincke

Mike Fincke became an astronaut in 1996. He has flown in three previous missions, including two long stays on the International Space Station. One of the flights was called STS-134. Mission STS-134 was the last flight of Endeavor shuttle. The main tasks of the mission included the AMS-02 spectrometer (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2) and outdoor non-hermetic platform EXPRESS Logistics Carriers 3 to the International Space Station. During the mission, 4 took place in the space. On board the space shuttle, astronaut Andrew Feustel had the plush figure of the Czech Krtek. This mission is also extraordinary by the fact that Mike Ficke has created a record of the length of stay in the universe (381 days).

Fincke has worked with NASA's business partners since 2013, NASA officials said in a statement.

Chris Ferguson

Chris Ferguson works closely with Boeing's Starline crew. Nicole Aunapu Mann joins Ferguson when NASA is assigned to astronauts for the first two years Dragon Crew. This spacecraft is due to complete the test flight this year.

Dragon 2, formerly referred to as Dragon V2 or DragonRider, is the second generation of the SpaceX spacecraft. It should exist both in the unmanned variant referred to as Dragon 2, as well as in the pilot version under the designation Crew Dragon, which is being developed as part of NASA 's CCDev program, in which Boeing' s CST-100 Starliner was commissioned for manned flights to the ISS. The name is connected to the supply ship Dragon. Crew Dragon is primarily intended for the transport of American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), for which, according to the contract, it is to perform 2 to 6 manned flights no earlier than 2017. Alternatively, it can also be used for transport to private space stations, such as the planned Bigelow Aerospace station.

The ship will be equipped with another NASA Docking System, which will be to enable automatic buckling at an orbital station.

Unlike other current ships, the Dragon 2 will land motorized using 8 SuperDraco engines without parachutes. These will be available to the ship only for emergencies. SuperDraco engines will also replace the classic turret to quickly rescue the crew from the ramp. Thanks to this method of landing, no costly rescue operation will be required and it will be more comfortable for the crew. Only American space shuttles, which landed on the runway, had a similar advantage, similar to a normal aircraft. The motor landing system is also being considered for the Russian Federation spacecraft.

The carrier of Dragon 2 will be the Falcon 9 rocket, which is already carrying Dragon supply ships, in the future also its DragonLab configuration. Another planned version of the Dragon was the RedDragon for transporting scientific instruments or supplies to Mars. He was to take off on Falcon Heavy rockets. The first manned mission is scheduled for April 2019.

Each crew test flight joins the space station and returns to Earth.

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