Elizabeth Leigh
Boeing and United Launch Alliance have finished evaluating a proposed launch configuration of the Crew Space Transportation-100 capsule designed to carry people and cargo to low Earth orbit space stations.
The wind tunnel test was carried out at the NASA Ames Research Center in California, Boeing said Friday.
The test, which linked scale models of the CST-100 spacecraft and Atlas V rocket via a launch vehicle adaptor, “confirmed our expectations of how they will perform together in flight,“ said John Mulholland, Boeing vice president and program manager for commercial programs.
The team also completed a thrust test of the Centaur rocket stage that will use mixed liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to drive the spacecraft toward its intended destination once it reaches space.
The Centaur will be used to transport humans into space for the first time since it entered into service in the 1960s.
“Because it has never been used for human spaceflight before, these tests are critical to ensuring a smooth and safe performance for the crew members who will be riding atop the human-rated Atlas V,” said Ed Mango, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager.
