The Boeing Co. and Space Adventures Ltd. today announced an agreement to market commercial rides to low Earth orbit aboard a Boeing capsule now in development. If the initiative is successful, many customers flying on Boeing's seven-person Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft, of CST-100, would likely launch from Cape Canaveral.
The capsule is being designed to launch atop United Launch Alliance's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets and SpaceX's Falcon 9, which have pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The companies see a market for flying tourists, companies, government agencies and astronauts from other countries to the International Space Station or other destinations.
Boeing has already partnered with Bigelow Aerospace in the hope of flying astronauts to a privately run space station being developed by Bigelow.
No price for the seats has been set, according to a news release that says launches are expected by 2015.
Space Adventures has flown seven spaceflight participants to the space station aboard Soyuz spacecraft.
IMAGE: An artist's concept of a capsule Boeing is developing to fly astronauts to low Earth orbit. Credit: Boeing.
19 comments:
BOEING?! HA HA What a JOKE!!! It wasn't that many years ago after Boeing walked AWAY from the "rocket" industry....Delta....when one of their uppers said: "I don't love rockets".....uhuh, now look at them.
I'll believe it when I see it. For now it is pie in the sky. Although I am certain it will happen eventually, just not in <5 years.
In under five years? Yeah, and the shuttle's replacement will be flying by 2014. Want to buy some land in south Florida?
What does Tim Tebow think about this? Has Floriduh Today asked him to comment yet?
As a native Brevardian now working in the defense industry on the west coast (not Seattle and not Boeing), all I can say is that the Brevard Chamber better beg and plead - sell your first borns if needs be - to get Boeing to come to town. Forget the prospect of a ghost town, if the cuts being pushed pass, Brevard is going to be a ghost county unless private industry comes to the rescue. And don't think for a second that a launch site HAS to be at the Cape because newer, more efficient construction from the ground-up could take place at any number of sites far, far away from East Central FL.
The facts Boeing never walked away they Bought McDonald Douglas
nad Delta IV has flow 14 times from both coast East and West
this project has been working for 5 years
Boeing, anyone, take us to the next Orbit! we only have two centuries to do that...can we afford to waste the manpower and knowledge now for a sophisticated taxi?
Where is our country headed? Into Orbit? Really?
All the Liberals (Unions) bought the change hook line and sinker, now the Union is going down with the ship.
Union membership you wanted change are you HAPPY??
So the winners of the Space Race will continue to languish in low-Earth orbit (LEO), leaving us only the capacity to give rich people rides to space - while our own astronauts will have to pay the Russians. And we'll still have no heavy-left capability to send our astronauts beyond LEO. Still no plan for the Moon, asteroids, Mars... Where is our vision for manned space?
Finally someone is doing something...NASA spent the last 15 years doing nothing to provide for the next generation of vehicles except to do what we did in the sixties. We are going back in time...Let's move foward!
I agree with the above comment. Nice to see some 60 plus years of technology has led us to giving rides to orbit. Well I guess we can just count on Russia and China to do the real leading in space exploration now.
"And don't think for a second that a launch site HAS to be at the Cape because newer, more efficient construction from the ground-up could take place at any number of sites far, far away from East Central FL."
Excuse you and your naïveté on space flight, but there's a reason why shuttles lift off from East Central Florida. For reasons that I'm sure are beyond your scope of understanding, the main launch site has to be near the equator (linear velocity of Earth's surface is greatest at the equator) and on the east coast (so falling debris would land in the ocean and not people). Therefore Florida's east coast is the prime location. And since it is already built up in an area that is now protected, I'm sure that the site of any future launches will not change.
Yes, there have been other launches (of satellites and such) at other locations, but the Cape is the main site for previously stated reasons.
Also, in quoting the article, "... to the International Space Station or other destinations." What are the "other destinations"? How far can this proposed capsule travel?
I Monreal here.
great article. Just read the N Y Times article on the subject
as well. Although Boing sais they want to lunch this effort as
part fo the whole commercial program to get to space, they also
say that government would or will have to pay for most of the
cost of devellopement of this so called commercial spaceship /
capsule.
Where is the commercial or private in that. Boing is just trying to win back an equivalent of their lost to Lockeed Martin a couple of years back. Space X is the only one that seems to be doign it by themselves, at least mostly.
If Obama was really serius about commercial space, he would
tell these guys, especialy the big players, NO GOV MONNEY UNTIL WE SEE RESULTS. COMMERCIAL MEANS PRIVATE AT LEAST FOR
DEVELLOPEMENT PHASE, GOV MONNEY WOULD COME ONLY DURING THE HAR-
WARE PHASE.
I never though I would be saying or writing that, but I m ho-
ping for a continuing resolution as far as NASA is concerned.
Then Orion, Constellation can continue for another year and
then we will be to close to the next presidential cicle for
Obama to risk loosing Florida and Texas, so he will have to
reverse course and support Constellation and finance it ade-
quatly.
But Hopefully, a republican House and mayby Senate will force
him to do that and more. Enough of this destructive plan
for NASA. When Neil Armstrong think the whole NASA 2011 plan
is bad, it means that it is. Your senator Nelson is acting
like a whore and he needs to be reminded that the peaple of
Florida want Constellation.
Wake up America. I m in canada ant I seem to care more about
this than a lot of supossed patriotic Americans, its just to
bad. Sorry to end on such a bad note, but its true. their is
another point that I would like to make. To continue to be
first in mannad space, it is patriotic to contribute a bit in
taxes even if its not fun,theese things are not cheap.
Apollo was big goverment but most of you were still proud of it. Even the no big gov. tea party style folks, so put up a
bit or you will be the firts to blame liberals when Cina gets
to Mars first because you did not want to pay taxes.
until next time, bye.
Montreal again, a few minutes after my last comment.
Their is something else that bothers me with this whole com-
mercial concept. Space X seems to be mostly bases on US soil
but Its main competition whou se name i forgot, their rocket
woild be partly bilt in Ukraine. How does that put Americans
to Work. How can Obama, NASA s administrator and the peaple
conselling them think that the American taxepayer would stand
for that, especailly the WE HATE TAXES crowd. They and most
Americans will never support autsorsing america s manned space
program, and wrightly. I certainly would not if I wher an Ame-
rican.
THAT NEEDS TO BE POINTED OUT TO THOSE SENATORS ANC CONGRESSMAN.
Again, Thanks for posting my comments. hopefully, I m making
some sense and most peaple agree with me on this one.
bye
With this program Boeing is in direct competition to SpaceX and its Falcon and Dragon programs. It will be interesting if they will be able to underbid SpaceX when it comes to commercial space taxi business.
They are joinnig the fray of companies embracing commercial manned spaceflight. Thre is much competition at this time.
Montreal here,
Where is the private or commercial in giving all these firms
6 billion dollars to devellop spacecrafts when the market for
them does not exist. Bying a service is fine but paying to
develop a pruduct when you are the buyer, not the seller, don t
these obama folks have it backwords.
My, look at all the people with such courage of their convictions that they post anonymously.
On the subject of partial government funding, the excellent Space Politics blog (www.spacepolitics.com) reported on the press conference:
*****
However, both [Boeing Vice-President John] Elbon and Space Adventures chairman Eric Anderson rejected the argument that, because Boeing’s business plan required government funding, the program was thus somehow not commercial. "It becomes a very good deal for the US taxpayer" by having multiple customer bases that spread out the development and operational costs of such a system, Anderson said, later citing historical examples such as airmail supporting the early aviation industry. "I think the argument that if it's not purely funded and purely financed by private industry that there's no market, I think that is, with all due respect, hogwash."
*****
As for other destinations, Boeing already has a deal with Bigelow to use the CST-100 for delivering people to their private inflatable space station.
If we're worried about wasting money, why are we spending tens or hundreds of billions we will have to borrow from China on a heavy lift launch vehicle that has no customers, except perhaps for lobbyists from the companies that will be paid to build it? If we were worried about NASA abandoning its role in human spaceflight, why did local Republicans cheer when Bush cancelled the Space Shuttle just when it was finally working well, and ordered the ISS abandoned as soon as it was finally finished?
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