DocM Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Here we go. What they're getting awards for - (spacecraft images bottom) Boeing: CST-100 crew capsule SpaceX: Dragon capsule launch escape/landing system Sierra Nevada: Dream Chaser spaceplane Blue Origin: New Shepard capsule RELEASE: 11-102NASA AWARDS NEXT SET OF COMMERCIAL CREW DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded four Space Act Agreements in the second round of the agency's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) effort. Each company will receive between $22 million and $92.3 million to advance commercial crew space transportation system concepts and mature the design and development of elements of their systems, such as launch vehicles and spacecraft. The selectees for CCDev2 awards are: -- Blue Origin, Kent, Wash., $22 million -- Sierra Nevada Corporation, Louisville, Colo., $80 million -- Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Hawthorne, Calif., $75 million -- The Boeing Company, Houston, $92.3 million "We're committed to safely transporting U.S. astronauts on American-made spacecraft and ending the outsourcing of this work to foreign governments," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "These agreements are significant milestones in NASA's plans to take advantage of American ingenuity to get to low-Earth orbit, so we can concentrate our resources on deep space exploration." The goal of CCDev2 is to accelerate the availability of U.S. commercial crew transportation capabilities and reduce the gap in American human spaceflight capability. Through this activity, NASA also may be able to spur economic growth as potential new space markets are created. Once developed, crew transportation capabilities could become available to commercial and government customers. "The next American-flagged vehicle to carry our astronauts into space is going to be a U.S. commercial provider," said Ed Mango, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager. "The partnerships NASA is forming with industry will support the development of multiple American systems capable of providing future access to low-Earth orbit." These awards are a continuation of NASA's CCDev initiatives, which began in 2009 to stimulate efforts within U.S. industry to develop and demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities. For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit: Boeing CST-100 (partnered with Bigelow Aerospace) SpaceX Dragon (already flying) Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser (partnered with Northrop Grumman & Virgin Galactic) Blue Origin New Shepard (somewhat black project) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Details - Sierra Nevada: system requirements review canted airfoil fin selection cockpit based flight simulator vehicle avionics integration laboratory system defniition review flight control integration laboratory ETA structure delivery separation system test preliminary design review for Dream Chaser optional milestones: materials testing captive carry and ETA landing gear drop tests, ETA captive carry flight test, wind tunnel testing, dream chaser handling qualities evaluation, main RCS test, two hybrid rocket motor test firing, thrust vector control test, ETA captive carry flight test readiness review, ETA free flight test Blue Origin: * Space Vehicle Design: space vehicle system requirements review * Pusher escape Risk Reduction: pusher escape ground firing, pusher escape pad escape test (optional milestones: pusher escape max-Q sled test calibration run, pusher escape mas-Q sled test egress run) * RBS (reusable booster system) engine risk reduction: engine thrust chamber assembly test at Stennis (optional: engine pump cold gas drive test, engine pump hot gas drive test) [as an aside, apparently the RBF is a 100klbf restartable hydrolox engine) Boeing: launch abort engine fabrication & hot fire test demonstration landing air bag drop demonstration #1 phase I wind tunnel tests interim design review - 4 parachute drop tests demonstration SM propellant tank development test LV EDS/ASIF interface simulation test Preliminary design review SpaceX: launch abort system propulsion conceptual design review design status review 1 (for Falcon 9/Dragon crew transportation system) LAS propulsion components PDR crew accommodation concept prototype and in situ trial (internally-funded by SpaceX, NASA astronauts invited to try crew accomodations and give feedback) DSR 2 crew accommodation concept delta-prototype and in-situ trial 2 LAS propulsion component test articles complete LAS propulsion component initial test cycle concept baseline review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Excerpts from the SpaceX Dragon data - looks like it flies in 2014. The 8 companies they're working with were redacted, so let the speculation begin ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Boeing CST-100 timeline - they fly in 2015, a year after Dragon but they started later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Sierra Nevada hasn't provided a timeline graphic for Dream Chaser's timeline, but drop tests of the full size test bird, analogous to the Shuttle Enterprise, will perform drop-test flights in 2012 - likely using the Virgin Galactic White Knight Two serving as its mothership. A launch is possible atop an Atlas V in 2014. Blue Origin is, as usual, cryptic other than the test flight will be on an Atlas V and later flights on their own reusable booster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 CCDev is now starting level 2 (CCDev-2) and is issuing bi-monthly reports. The most recent is here - http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/563409main_201106_Commercial_60day_Report_508.pdf Highlights: Boeing CST-100: Delta Systems Design Review completed, Full-scale landing airbag test this summer. SpaceX Dragon: abort system design and supporting paper gets sent to NASA this month (July 2011). Cabin hardware (seats, controls, and enhanced life support) development in parallel. SNC Dream Chaser: system requirements review, preliminary design review, airfoil selection Blue Origin SV: vehicle design, pusher launch escape, and reusable booster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 wait wait have i got it all wrong? i thought Dream Chaser was SSTO this whole time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 No, it's TSTO - two stages. The only SSTO spacecraft that's been proposed was the Lockheed Martin VentureStar spaceplane and it's X-33 testbed, both of which used the revolutionary Linear Aerospike engine. They were cancelled by NASA & Congress in 2001 during X-33's construction; it was too big a threat to the Space Shuttle establishment. VentureStar was shown in the opening credits for Star Trek: Enterprise and was also referenced in Avatar. Left to right: X-33, VentureStar and Space Shuttle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 oh come on Doc, you know i love the VentureStar, it's basically my Valkyrie shuttle, and yes the name was used in the Avatar ISV...that was a nice touch i thought. is there a chance the VS will be resurrected now the shuttle is retired? will the aeospike engine magically work to spec now? please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 No bucks, no Buck Rogers. It would take billions for NASA to restart it, and with the development level of commercial crew and Falcon Heavy they'd be cheaper/kg of crew and cargo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 When who is scheduled to do what - subject to change, of course 2011: Dragon C2 cargo - ISS approach (optional C3 - ISS docking) 2012: Dragon C3 cargo - ISS docking (if blended C2/C3 isn't done) Dream Chaser drop tests (from WhiteKnightTwo) Cygnus C1 cargo first test flight - ISS approach Falcon Heavy delivered to Vandenberg AFB SLC-4E Dragon cargo to ISS goes operational - 12 flights Cygnus cargo to ISS goes operational - 8 flights 2013: Falcon Heavy first flight Dream Chaser unmanned flight 2014: CST100 unmanned flight Dragon manned flight Dream Chaser manned flight 2016: NASA MPCV* unmaned flight (if NASA's SLS** booster is ready) * Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle ** Space Launch System ultra-heavy lift rocket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 MPCV is what's supposed to take us to the moon and Mars, right? So why not just launch it to the moon 2016? EDIT: i liked your Buck Rogers joke, but i intentionally avoided it...the Venture Star cancellation really saddens me...such a beautiful ship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Orion/MPCV is what's left of the Constellation lunar program, an exercise in how NOT to do things. Constellation was finally killed last year but its supporters keep trying to resurrect it, and MPCV is part of that in spite of Dragon being designed to be just as capable for beyond Earth orbit missions. Its launcher, SLS, is late and getting later as Constellation advocates try to resurrect Ares V as the design goal in spite of good reasons not to ($$$$$$) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 why can't we have several platforms at the same time? i kinda understand the logic in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Stupidity & greed. The correct way to do heavy lift is to have a competition like COTS for cargo and CCDev for crew; let SpaceX's Falcon X/XX concept etc. take on all comers. The problem is that this puts the old-paradigm high-cost systems like shuttle-derived (SLS/Ares V, Direct etc) at a cost disadvantage, which doesn't sit well with congressmen & senators who have shuttle-based NASA centers and suppliers in their states/districts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 NASA and United Launch Associates (ULA - a Lockheed/Boeing joint venture) have signed a Space Act Agreement for the human-rating of the Atlas V booster. This agreement is unfunded, but it will allow ULA to use NASA's labs to develop, simulate and test towards this end. ULA's dime. Atlas V is to be the front line launcher for the SNC Dream Chaser, Blue Origin's Space Vehicle, and Boeing's CST-100. The big question is if the $120M+ cost of Atlas V will be lowered enough to compete with Falcon 9's $59M - $69M price point. The current price is the same as a cross-fed Falcon Heavy, a much more powerful system set to start flying in 2013. Massive overkill for this purpose, but still.... Atlas V and CST-100 Atlas V and Dream Chaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Doc, i demand you change your sig! it's offensive to my person! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 every time you feel hostile towards spaceplanes, just sing the theme song from Star Blazers to yourself, and picture the Argo/Yamato flying through space with that huge citadel on top. you'll get in the spirit and won't hate spaceplanes any more. "we're off to outer space, we're leaving mother Earth, to save the human race..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 As I'v said, they have their uses including emergency medical and delicate experiment/materials return, but for now not the routine up/down stuff. That said, I'm prepping a post that may make you happier. It's not near term but it is commercial and very real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 yes, it has made me happy, and thanks for the personal heads up :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 CCDev 60 day update #2 http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/580957main_August%202011_CSD%2060%20Day%20Report_508.pdf Notables: The main potential delay for SpaceX's COTS-2/3 flight actually docking at ISS is not them but delays in software updates at ISS itself. SpaceX will be testing at White Sands, presumably the Super Draco thrusters. Blue Origin will be testing engines at Stennis. SNC at Langley, KSC and JSC. Boeing at Langley. Aside- SpaceX is testing the Super Draco's at White Sands because that center is set up to handle engine testing with toxic hypergolic fuels; nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine - the same as most other spacecraft. The plan is to eventually transition to the NOBFx monopropellant if its ignition speed is fast enough for use in launch abort systems. NOBFx = Nitrous Oxide Fuel Blend x, a FireStar Technologies propitiatory mix of nitrous oxide with a fuel and blending agents in various proportions (the "x") according to the mission. By storing both oxidizer and fuel in a stabilized mix it simplifies the plumbing considerably and it's not anywhere near as toxic as hypergolics. It gets tested at ISS in 2012, http://www.firestar-engineering.com/index.html NOFBx advantages - constituents are widely available from chemical suppliers, inexpensive and safe to handle.can be transported and handled without undue precautions or hazards.effluents are non-toxic and produces no accumulated deposits or contamination.propulsion system has high Isp (320-340 s) ? similar to the most common bi-propellant.has far better lift capability than the current workhorse monopropellant, hydrazine.is tolerant to a wide thermal range; storable at room temperature on the ground and is Space-storable. [is projected to] lower cost compared to existing propulsion systems of comparable performance.is monopropellant, which significantly reduces the need for auxiliary hardware, saving cost, volume, and mass for launch systems.utilizes cool running thrusters that dramatically reduce thermal design challenges. burns in liquid, gas, and two-phase flow.does not have the materials compatibility constraints of traditional hypergolic systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 thanks for the update again Doc, it's great that there's so much activity planned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Boeing will be using one of the old Shuttle processing facilities to prep & refurbish their CST-100 CCDev entry - Link.... Boeing signs lease for NASA's space shuttle hangarCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? The Boeing Co. plans to build space taxis at a mothballed space shuttle processing hangar at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in central Florida. On Monday, NASA officials and company executives confirmed that Boeing has reached an agreement with Space Florida, a state-backed agency working to expand space-related businesses in Florida, to lease Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at the center. Boeing will also place the headquarters of its commercial crew operation in Florida, said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for the company's effort. "We will launch from right here, on Florida's Space Coast," Mullholland said. The agreement was hailed by state and federal officials during a news conference inside the Orbiter Processing Facility. "Ladies and gentlemen, the dream is alive," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said the agreement would give a "major boost" to the space agency's commercialization efforts. She noted that Boeing and Space Florida were already sprucing up the shuttle's old hangar. "I love what you've done to the place so far," she joked. Kennedy Space Center is drafting a master plan for a revamped spaceport that, in addition to supporting future NASA spacecraft, will host commercial, military and international customers. Boeing is one of four companies NASA is sponsoring to develop spaceships that can ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations orbiting 240 miles (385 kilometers) above Earth. With the retirement of NASA's space shuttles this summer, the United States is currently dependent on Russia to fly crews to the orbital outpost, at a cost of about $350 million per year. NASA hopes to be able to buy rides from U.S. firms before the end of 2016. Boeing's proposed space taxi is a seven-seat capsule called the CST-100, which would launch on an Atlas 5 rocket. The company also has an agreement to provide rides for clients of Bigelow Aerospace, which is developing privately-owned inflatable space habitats for commercial and government lease. NASA has spent $388 million to bolster the development of passenger spaceships. Boeing won $18 million in the program's first round of financing and $92.3 million in the second phase, which is currently under way. The U.S. space agency this year added $20.6 million in options to Boeing's agreement if the company can complete additional milestones in the CST-100 development. The Obama administration is requesting $850 million for the program for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Bills pending in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would cut that to $312 million and $500 million, respectively. OPF-3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 Q1 2012 Commercial Crew Development milestones - Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) Dream Chaser - Engineering Test Article (ETA) Structure Delivery - Captive Carry Interface & ETA Landing Gear Drop Tests (read: attachment for the Virgin WhiteKnightTwo mothership) - Separation System Test - ETA Captive Carry Flight Test Readiness Review Boeing CST-100 - Launch Vehicle Emergency Detection System/Avionics System Integration Facility Interface Simulation Test Phase 2 - Launch Abort Engine (LAE) Fabrication and Hot Fire Test Demo SpaceX Dragon - Crew Accommodation Concept Prototype and In-Situ Trial 1 (read: seats, control panel layouts & controls) - Crew Accommodation Concept Delta-Prototype and In-Situ Trial 2 (launch abort/DragonRider test fire in Q2) Blue Origin SV - Pusher Escape Ground Firing (read: launch abort system) - Pusher Escape Test Vehicle #1 Shipment United Launch Alliance (ULA) human-rated Atlas V launcher - No milestone in Q1 Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) Liberty launcher (unfunded) - Launch System Initial System Design (ISD) - Technical Interchange Meeting 2 - Program Status Review (PSR) Excalibur Almaz Incorporated (EAI) (unfunded) - System Requirements Review - Launch Vehicle Compatibility Review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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