Boeing CST-100 crew space transportation system consists of a crew module and service module with capacity for up to seven crew members. The spacecraft will initially launch from Florida atop an Atlas 5 rocket.

This is an artist's conception of Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft separating from the first stage of its launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, following liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The CST-100 is designed to launch atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41, a little more than 7 miles away from C3PF.

The capsule will be reusable for up to 10 flights.

Mission

The aim of the Boeing CST-100 spacecraft is to provide:

1. Crew transport to the International Space Station (ISS). It may dock to the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module in the future.

2. Crew Transport to private space stations such as the proposed Bigelow Aerospace Commercial Space Station (Bigelow Aerospace Complex) and other low Earth orbit destinations.

Facts

Launch Date: First flight test mission perhaps in 2016.
Command Module: 3.14m
Command Module and Service Module: 5.03m
Mass: Approx 10T
Landing: Use landing bags
Mission Duration: Up to 210 days to ISS.

Name

CST stand for Crew Space Transportation. The number 100 in the name stands for 100 km. The 100 is the height of the Kármán line. The Kármán line lies at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth's sea level and is commonly used to define the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space.

Boeing CST-100 in Space

Launch

In early missions CST-100 will be launched on an Atlas V rocket. In the future it may also fly on other launch vehicles such as Delta IV, Falcon 9, ATK Liberty and even on Space Launch System.

Spacecraft Design

The CST-100 capsule is larger than the Apollo command module and smaller than the Orion capsule.

History

-  Boeing released artist's renderings of its Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft during a media briefing with Bigelow Aerospace today at the Farnborough Airshow on July 19, 2010.

- Boeing and partner Bigelow Aerospace successfully completed a parachute drop test of the Crew Space Transportation CST-100 spacecraft on 3 April 3 2012 at the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nevada, USA.

- Boeing Company tested the composite-based forward heat shield at Bigelow Aerospace's headquarters outside of Las Vegas on June 5, 7 and 11 2012.

- The third round of funding by NASA's Commercial Crew Development program was announced on 3 August 2012 and the winners were: Sierra Nevada Corporation with its Dream Chaser spaceplane/Atlas V system, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) with Dragon spacecraft/Falcon 9 system and Boeing Company with CST-100 spacecraft/Atlas V system.

Boeing were one of three companies working with NASA's Commercial Crew Program during the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) phase to develop integrated spacecraft and launch vehicle systems that could be called on to fly Americans to and from low-Earth orbit in the future.

Did you know?

* Other space competitors delivering crew to the ISS include: SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, Dream Chaser space plane, Orion spacecraft and Orbital Science's Cygnus spacecraft.

Boeing CST-100 Links

• Boeing CST-100: pdf by The Boeing Company
• Commercial Crew Transportation System - Beyond Earth:
• CST-100 | NASASpaceFlight.com:
• Design Considerations for a Commercial Crew Transportation System: AIAA Space 2011 Conference and Exposition
• CST-100 completes parachute drop test: Boeing Video
• Boeing Tests CST-100 Parachute Protector: by NASA (28 Aug 2012)

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Updated: Saturday 23rd, February, 2013