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WRITTEN HISTORY FOR NEWS FROM CBS AND USED WITH AUTHORIZATION
NASA announced on Wednesday that SpaceX was aiming to launch its first Crew Dragon commercial ferry on an unmanned test flight to the International Space Station (NASA) on 7 January, a major step in the decision to end its dependence on Russian Soyuz ships. astronauts in orbit.
If the shakedown flight goes smoothly – and if a NASA security probe unveiled Tuesday reveals no obstacles – SpaceX could be ready to launch the first Dragon Crew flown over a Falcon 9 rocket in June , carrying NASA veteran astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the space station.
Boeing is also building a commercial spacecraft called the CST-100 Starliner. An unmanned test flight is currently scheduled for March – a specific date has not yet been announced – followed by a piloted flight to the station in August. Boeing will use the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets to propel the Starliner spacecraft into orbit.
Both companies still face various technical hurdles and dates are at best tentative.
Boeing has encountered propulsion problems in the Starliner abandonment system and has fallen behind on key tests while SpaceX is facing "serious difficulties," according to the NASA Aerospace Advisory Committee, including about High pressure helium tanks used in Falcon 9 booster issues with the crew dragon.
SpaceX officials, however, announced that the company was on track for its launch in January and that the material handling, crew training and ground support processes were proceeding as planned.
Anyway, NASA officials hope that one or both companies will be allowed to begin operational crew rotation flights next year, thus ending the dependency of the agency vis-à-vis the Russian spacecraft Soyuz, the only means of transport available for US, European, Canadian and Japanese astronauts since the withdrawal of the space shuttle in 2011.
The Crew Dragon unmanned flight that will take place in January, known as the Demo-1 on the SpaceX Manifesto, will be launched from the historic 39A platform at the Kennedy Space Center. The takeoff is scheduled for 23h57. EST (GMT-5) when the rotation of the Earth causes the plate in the plane of the station's orbit.
Once out of Falcon 9, the spacecraft should make an autonomous appointment with the International Space Station. He will then sneak into a port of the recently modified port of the laboratory where the shuttles were moored. After a short stay, the capsule disarms and returns to Earth with an ocean spill.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post announced that NASA was launching a major study of Boeing's and SpaceX's "cultures" of safety. In a statement, NASA said the review was aimed at "ensuring companies comply with NASA's requirements for workplace safety, including respect for a drug-free environment." .
"We fully expect our business partners that they comply with all the workplace safety requirements when carrying out our assignments and the services they provide to the American people," continues the communicated. "As always, NASA will ensure that they do it."
The newspaper, citing sources, reported that the review was triggered in part by the recent behavior of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, "after taking a sip of marijuana and drinking whiskey on a streaming podcast on the Internet" .
A SpaceX spokesman told CBS News that human spaceflight "is the core mission of our company" and that "nothing is more important to SpaceX than this company."
"We take seriously the responsibility that NASA has given us to safely and reliably transport American astronauts to and from the International Space Station," he said. "For years, our engineers have worked side by side with NASA, creating a strong partnership and guiding the development of Crew Dragon, one of the safest and most advanced spaceflight systems ever built."
He stated that the company was actively promoting workplace safety and that officials were convinced that "our comprehensive programs of labor and drug and drug free work programs exceed the applicable contractual requirements"
A spokesperson for Boeing said the company's culture "guarantees the integrity, safety and quality of our products, our people and their work environment. As NASA's trusted partner since the beginning of manned spaceflight, we share the same values and we are committed to continuing our legacy of trust, openness and mission success. "
The commercial crew program was born from a NASA sponsored competition that began in 2011 and ended in September 2014 when the agency announced that Boeing and SpaceX would share $ 6.8 billion to develop independent space taxis, the first new American spacecraft since the shuttle.
SpaceX builds the Dragon Crew under a $ 2.6 billion contract. SpaceX also holds contracts with NASA valued at more than $ 2 billion for 20 cargo missions in space stations using unmanned Dragon capsules. A subsequent contract for an unspecified amount covers six other cargo flights.
Boeing won a $ 4.2 billion contract for the development of CST-100 Starliner. Unlike the Dragon Crew, the Starliner will use parachutes and airbags for ground landings in the western United States.
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