Among other things,2018 is the year of commercial crew firsts.NASA's Commercial Crew Program will come into its own as major steps are taken in crewed spaceflight to the ISS on spacecraft built by NASA contractors Boeing and SpaceX.Boeing and SpaceX hold NASA contracts worth 6-8 billion dollars for two spaceflights each and 2-6 operational missions for ISS flight crew services.*
SpaceX will use its new Block 5 Falcon 9 to launch astronauts to the ISS for NASA;while Boeing will use United Launch Alliance's Atlas V for that mission,both of them beginning in 2018.The launch schedule is as follows:
Boeing Orbital Flight Test (uncrewed) - August 2018
Boeing Crew Flight Test (crewed) - November 2018
SpaceX Demonstration Mission (uncrewed) - August 2018
SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 (crewed) - December 2018
SpaceX will launch from Kennedy Space Center;and Boeing will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.*
By providing for the expansion of the ISS crew to its full complement of seven astronauts,the CCP will increase the amount of research that can be done,including that which applies to deep space exploration.
The ISS is currently funded through 2024.*
Boeing (BA)
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