14 DAY TRIAL // NASA officials said recently that 2014 will be a critically-important year for the agency's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), through which NASA is supporting private companies in their efforts to develop spacecraft and rockets that can be used to resupply the International Space Station and explore destinations beyond Earth's orbit.
The main partners NASA has under CCP contracts are the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), of Hawthorne, California; the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), of Sparks, Nevada; the Boeing Company, of Houston, Texas; and the Kent, Washington-based Blue Origin.
Throughout 2013, all of these companies exhibited remarkable progress in respecting the terms of their respective contracts, and officials with these organizations have already announced that they plan to keep the momentum going throughout 2014 as well.
A few years ago, NASA gambled that private enterprises such as these ones represent the future of American spaceflight, and decided to abandon some of its own projects in order to support companies with innovative ideas. This gamble appears to have paid off now, analysts comment.
The CCP contains several key elements, one of which is represented by Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts. If all goes well, that space agency wants to award another of these contracts to an American company by August 2014. The goal of CCtCap is to foster the development of spacecraft that can take astronauts to space.
The overarching goal of the CCP is to support the development of private companies such that NASA is able to use newly-developed spacecraft to ferry its astronauts to and from the ISS within 3 years.
“Our partners have steadily moved pieces from the drawing boards and computer screens to factory floors and test stands across the country. The new year offers exciting opportunities for these companies to demonstrate the reach and potential of their hard-earned innovations,” CCP acting manager Kathy Lueders said.
What CCP partners are developing:
Boeing Company – the CST-100 manned space capsule Sierra Nevada Corporation – the shuttle-like Dream Chaser Space System SpaceX – the Falcon 9 medium-lift rocket plus manned and unmanned versions of the Dragon capsule Blue Origin – the New Shepherd space capsule
In a few weeks, SpaceX is scheduled to conduct its third Dragon flight, which will be a resupply mission to the ISS. Launch will occur in mid-February, from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida.