PDR Of Programming To Operate The CST Spacecraft Complete

NASA says the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of software developed by Boeing for the operation of its Crew Space Transportation (CST) spacecraft has been completed. The company now has completed more than 40 milestones under partnerships supporting NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). "When it comes to designing a spacecraft safe enough to transport humans, software is as important as the hardware," said Ed Mango, CCP manager. "Boeing has made an excellent effort to take safety into consideration while developing critical software components of its spacecraft."

Boeing's CST-100 is designed to be a reusable, capsule-shaped spacecraft, capable of transporting up to seven people or a combination of people and cargo. It is compatible with a variety of expendable launch vehicles. Boeing has selected United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket for initial CST-100 test flights.

Software is essential to all operational aspects of the spacecraft, including launch, orbital maneuvering, docking with and separating from the space station, re-entry and landing. The testing is part of a NASA-funded Space Act Agreement under the second round of the agency's commercial crew development (CCDev2) activities, which could eventually lead toward human spaceflight certification of the CST-100.

All of NASA's industry partners, including Boeing, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities.(CST artist's conceptualization provided by Boeing)

FMI: www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew