Article Posted on : - Aug 05, 2011

An artist's illustration of the CST-100 capsule in space. A Boeing photo

HOUSTON/DENVER (BNS): Boeing has selected United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket to launch its Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft to ferry astronauts to space.

The two companies made the announcement on Thursday.

ULA said it will conduct the launch services from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida using the Atlas V 412 configuration with a single solid rocket booster with dual engine upper stage Centaur.

Boeing said if NASA selects it for a development contract with sufficient funding, ULA will provide launch services for an autonomous orbital flight, a transonic autonomous abort test launch, and a crewed launch, all in 2015.

The company plans to begin wind tunnel testing of the Atlas V and the CST-100 this year.

The results will help it in preparing a preliminary design review of the integrated system in 2012 under the second round of its Commercial Crew Development Space Act Agreement with NASA.

Under the space agency’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) programme that includes developing, manufacturing, testing and evaluating, and demonstrating a next-generation spacecraft, Boeing plans to build the CST-100 as a reusable, capsule-shaped spacecraft for human spaceflight programmes.