Development of the Commercial Crew Program

Starting from top image: the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, Crew Dragon, Dream Chaser, and at bottom human-rated Atlas V projects all received developmental funding through CCDev awards and contracts
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Development of the Commercial Crew Program (CCDev) began in the second round of the program, which was rescoped from a smaller technology development program for human spaceflight to a competitive development program that would produce the spacecraft to be used to provide crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). To implement the program, NASA awarded a series of competitive fixed-price contracts to private vendors starting in 2011. Operational contracts to fly astronauts were awarded in September 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing, and NASA expected each company to complete development and achieve crew rating in 2017.[1] Each company performed an uncrewed orbital test flight in 2019.

Both commercial Crew vehicles Crew Dragon and Starliner docked to ports on Harmony module at the same time

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-1 2019 flight of Dragon 2 arrived at the International Space Station in March 2019 and returned via splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. After completion of its test series, a Crew Dragon spacecraft made its first operational Commercial Crew Program flight, SpaceX Crew-1. The flight launched on November 16, 2020.[2] As of September 2023 SpaceX has completed seven successful CCP flights with another, SpaceX Crew-8, currently in progress.[needs update] It is contracted with NASA for fourteen operational flights total to the ISS.

The 2019 Boeing Orbital Flight Test of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft failed to reach the ISS in December 2019. The second test flight, Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2, occurred successfully in May 2022.[3][4][5] Pending completion of its demonstration flights, Boeing is contracted to supply six operational flights to the ISS.[6] The first group of astronauts was announced on August 3, 2018.[7] The first Starliner crewed flight test launched on June 5, 2024.[8] Starliner successfully docked with the station on June 6, 2024, after suffering several helium leaks and thruster malfunctions.[9][10][11] Due to these issues Starliner’s return to earth was delayed initially to June 26, 2024, then indefinitely.[12][13] On August 24, 2024 NASA administrator Bill Nelson made the decision to send the Starliner crew back home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.[14]

Commercial Crew Program vehicles Starliner and Dragon
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CCtCapBlogAnnounce was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Astronauts fly with SpaceX in landmark launch for commercial spaceflight". Spaceflight Now. November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  3. ^ Foust, Jeff (August 13, 2021). "Starliner test flight faces months-long delay". SpaceNews. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "Boeing Starliner test flight planned for spring 2022". SpaceNews. December 20, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Berger, Eric (December 14, 2021). "Leaky valve issue forces Boeing to swap out Starliner's service module". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  6. ^ "Boeing, SpaceX Secure Additional Crewed Missions Under NASA's Commercial Space Transport Program". January 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft". NASA. August 3, 2018.
  8. ^ Strickland, Ashley (June 5, 2024). "Boeing spacecraft carrying two astronauts lifts off on historic voyage". CNN.
  9. ^ Space Center, NASA Johnson (June 5, 2024). "The #Starliner crew continues to make their way to the @Space_Station and are in a sleep period. Teams have identified three helium leaks on the spacecraft. One of these was previously discussed before flight along with a management plan. The other two are new since the spacecraft arrived on orbit. Two of the affected helium valves have been closed and the spacecraft remains stable. Follow along for continuous coverage". X.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  10. ^ Hardwood, William (June 6, 2024). "A5/Starliner CFT: Four jets apparently were deselected earlier because of suspect readings; two of them operated normally during the hot fire tests and are now considered useable as needed; flight controllers are still assessing the other two; Wilmore and Williams were cleared to press ahead with a manual flying demo before docking, but the commander said his manual operation of the Starliner while the hot fire tests were being conducted was sufficient to meet the goals of the manual demo". X.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  11. ^ "Boeing Starliner Spacecraft Completes Successful Crewed Docking with International Space Station". investors.boeing.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  12. ^ Foust, Jeff (June 18, 2024). "NASA's Steve Stich says the Starliner CFT landing has been rescheduled for no earlier than June 26, at White Sands NM at 4:51 am EDT. Was previously scheduled for June 22". X.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Berger, Eric (June 22, 2024). "NASA indefinitely delays return of Starliner to review propulsion data". Ars Technica. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Berger, Eric (August 24, 2024). "It's official: NASA calls on Crew Dragon to rescue the Starliner astronauts". Ars Technica. Retrieved August 25, 2024.