Crew Dragon
Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by the American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions. The spacecraft, which consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable Service module, trunk module, has two variants: the 4-person Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon, a replacement for the SpaceX Dragon 1, Dragon 1 cargo capsule. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown. Crew Dragon's primary role is to transport crews to and from the ISS under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a task handled by the Space Shuttle until it was Retirement of the Space Shuttle, retired in 2011. It will be joined by Boeing Starliner, Boeing's Starliner in this role when NASA certifies it. Crew Dragon is also used for commercial flights to ISS and other destinations and is expected to be used to transport people to and fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Commercial Crew Program
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides Private spaceflight, commercially operated human spaceflight, crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the List of International Space Station expeditions, expeditions of the International Space Station program. The American space industry, space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using SpaceX Dragon 2, Crew Dragon, and NASA plans to add Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Boeing when Boeing Starliner, Starliner becomes operational no earlier than 2026. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030. The spacecraft are owned and operated by the vendor, and crew transportation is provided to NASA as a commercial service. Each mission sends up to four astronauts to the ISS. Operational flights occur approximately once every six months for m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Launch Escape System
A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule. It is used in the event of a critical emergency to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiring the abort of the launch, such as an impending explosion. The LES is typically controlled by a combination of automatic rocket failure detection, and a manual activation for the crew commander's use. The LES may be used while the launch vehicle is on the launch pad, or during its ascent. Such systems are usually of three types: *A solid-fueled rocket, mounted above the capsule on a tower, which delivers a relatively large thrust for a brief period of time to send the capsule a safe distance away from the launch vehicle, at which point the capsule's parachute recovery system can be used for a safe landing on ground or water. The escape tower and rocket are jettisoned from the space vehicle in a normal flight at the point where it is eit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Space Capsule
A space capsule is a spacecraft designed to transport cargo, scientific experiments, and/or astronauts to and from space. Capsules are distinguished from other spacecraft by the ability to survive reentry and return a payload to the Earth's surface from orbit or sub-orbit, and are distinguished from other types of recoverable spacecraft by their blunt shape, not having wings and often containing little fuel other than what is necessary for a safe return. Capsule-based human spaceflight, crewed spacecraft such as Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz or Orion (spacecraft), Orion are often supported by a service or adapter module, and sometimes augmented with an extra module for extended space operations. Capsules make up the majority of crewed spacecraft designs, although one crewed spaceplane, the Space Shuttle, has flown in orbit. Current examples of crewed space capsules include Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz, Shenzhou spacecraft, Shenzhou, and SpaceX Dragon 2, Dragon 2. Examples of new crew capsu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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SpaceX Crew-8
SpaceX Crew-8 was the eighth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew Program, Commercial Crew flight and the 13th overall crewed orbital flight of a SpaceX Dragon 2, Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission launched on 4 March 2024. The Crew-8 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Three NASA astronauts, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt (astronaut), Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and one Roscosmos cosmonaut, Alexander Grebenkin, were assigned to the mission. The Crew-8 mission was extended to accommodate problems encountered by the Boeing Crew Flight Test during its mission. The crew outfitted the Crew-8 capsule to accommodate two extra astronauts if an emergency occurred prior to Crew-9 docking on 29 September 2024. Crew Mission Crew-8 was the eighth SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program and the 13th overall crewed orbital flight of a SpaceX Dragon 2, Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission launched at 3:53:38Coo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reusable Spacecraft
Reusable spacecraft are spacecraft capable of repeated launch, atmospheric reentry, and landing or splashdown. This contrasts with expendable spacecraft which are designed to be discarded after use. Agencies operating reusable spacecraft aim to have lower costs and higher flight frequencies. Reusable spacecraft may be crewed or uncrewed and orbital or sub-orbital. Examples include spaceplanes such as the Space Shuttle and the Boeing X-37B, and space capsules such as the SpaceX Dragon. The Blue Origin New Shepard is an example of a sub-orbital spacecraft. History On 17 July 1962, the North American X-15 rocket plane reached an altitude of 95.9km on a sub-orbital flight. In 1963, the X-15 completed two flights above 100km. These marked the first spaceflights with a reusable vehicle. The Gemini SC-2 capsule followed, making a sub-orbital flight in 1965 and another sub-orbital flight in 1966. The first spacecraft to be reused in orbit was the Soviet VA spacecraft, a cap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Commercial Resupply Services
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first phase of CRS contracts (CRS-1) were signed in 2008 and awarded $1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve SpaceX Dragon 1, Dragon 1 and $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight Cygnus (spacecraft), Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. The first operational resupply missions were flown by SpaceX in 2012 (SpaceX CRS-1, CRS SpX-1) and Orbital in 2014 (Cygnus CRS Orb-1, CRS Orb-1). In 2015, NASA extended CRS-1 to twenty flights for SpaceX and twelve flights for Orbital ATK. A second phase of contracts (CRS-2) was solicited in 2014. CRS-2 contracts were awarded in January 2016 to Orbital ATK's continued use of Cygnus (spacecraft), Cygnus, Sierra Nevada Corporation's new Dream Chaser, and SpaceX's new SpaceX Dragon 2, Dragon 2, for cargo transport flights beginning in 2019 and expec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Space Logistics
Space logistics is "the theory and practice of driving space system design for operability and supportability, and of managing the flow of materiel, services, and information needed throughout a space system lifecycle." It includes terrestrial logistics in support of space travel, including any additional "design and development, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of space materiel", movement of people in space (both routine and for medical and other emergencies), and contracting and supplying any required support services for maintaining space travel. The space logistics research and practice primarily focus on the modeling and management of the astro-logistics supply chain from Earth and on to destinations throughout the Solar System as well as the system architecture strategies to minimize both logistics requirements and operational costs of human and robotic operations in space. History As early as 1960, Wernher von Braun s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Axiom Orbital Segment
Axiom Station is a planned modular space station designed by Houston, Texas-based Axiom Space for commercial space activities. Axiom Space gained initial NASA approval for the venture in January 2020. Axiom Space was later awarded the contract by NASA on February 28, 2020. Axiom Station is one of multiple Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) projects supported by NASA to build a successor to the International Space Station (ISS) before its decommissioning in 2030. Axiom Segment Between 2020 and 2024, Axiom Space intended to assemble four modules in a dedicated segment docked to the ISS before detaching them to form the free-flying Axiom Station. Axiom renderings illustrate how the four modules might attach to the ISS as they are berthed and relocated by the Mobile Servicing System using the robotic arm Canadarm2. The company released preliminary plans in February 2020 for how the Axiom Orbital Segment could form the basis for the Axiom Station, constructed out of the Axi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Axiom Space
Axiom Space, Inc., also known as Axiom Space, is an American privately funded space infrastructure developer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 2016 by former CEO Michael T. Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian, the company first flew a spaceflight in 2022: Axiom Mission 1, the first commercially crewed private spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). The company aims to own and operate a modular commercial space station in the late 2020s. The company's employees include former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria, Peggy Whitson, Brent W. Jett Jr and Koichi Wakata. The company sent its first commercial astronauts into orbit in 2022. It also plans human spaceflight for government-funded and commercial astronauts engaging in in-space research, in-space manufacturing, and space exploration. History Former Axiom Space CEO Michael T. Suffredini was previously the program manager for the International Space Station fro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boeing Starliner
The Boeing Starliner (or CST-100) is a spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it consists of a Reusable spacecraft, reusable crew Space capsule, capsule and an expendable service module. Slightly larger than the Apollo command and service module#Command module (CM), Apollo command module or SpaceX Dragon 2#Crew Dragon, SpaceX Crew Dragon, but smaller than the Orion (spacecraft), Orion capsule, the Starliner can accommodate a crew of up to seven, though NASA plans to fly no more than four. It can remain docked to the ISS for up to seven months and is launched on an Atlas V#N22, Atlas V N22 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. In 2014, NASA awarded Boeing a US$4.2 billion fixed-price contract to develop and operate Starliner, while SpaceX received $2.6 billion to develop and operate Crew Dragon. By ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Retirement Of The Space Shuttle
The retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle fleet took place from March to July 2011. ''Discovery'' was the first of the three active Space Shuttles to be retired, completing its final mission on March 9, 2011; '' Endeavour'' did so on June 1. The final shuttle mission was completed with the landing of ''Atlantis'' on July 21, 2011, closing the 30-year Space Shuttle program. The Shuttle was presented to the public in 1972 as a "space truck" which would, among other things, be used to build a United States space station in low Earth orbit in the early 1990s and then be replaced by a new vehicle. When the concept of the U.S. space station evolved into that of the International Space Station, which suffered from long delays and design changes before it could be completed, the service life of the Space Shuttle fleet was extended several times until 2011 when it was finally retired. After the ''Columbia'' loss in 2003, the ''Columbia'' Accident Investigation Board report showed that ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |