NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Move Forward in Commercial Space Projects
NASA image
Last week was a busy one for NASA and two contractors as they took next steps in testing several vehicles for commercial space travel, Wired reports.
According to Jason Paur, Boeing tested the forward heat shield on its CST-100, with the shield designed to protect parachutes during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
The Chicago-based aerospace firm recently received $460 million from NASA to continue work on its commercial crew program with a goal of sending astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
For the Orion program, on which Lockheed Martin is a prime contractor, the agency carried out a water impact and parachute test of the capsule by dropping an 18,000-pound version of the spacecraft specifically built for testing, according to Wired.
During those tests at Langley Water Impact Basin, the agency drops the Orion capsule into the water at different angles, the report said.
NASA wants to send Orion on a test flight into space by 2014, traveling 3,600 miles away from Earth, Paur reports.
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