2.8 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Space Shuttle retirement | 6/6 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_retirement | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:22:34.746709+00:00 | kb-cron |
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating commercially operated crew vehicles capable of delivering at least four astronauts to the ISS, staying docked for 180 days and then returning them to Earth. Like COTS, CCP is a fixed–price milestone-based developmental program that requires some private investment. In the first phase of the program, NASA provided a total of $50 million divided among five U.S. companies, intended to foster research and development into human spaceflight concepts and technologies in the private sector. In 2011, during the second phase of the program, NASA provided $270 million divided among four companies. During the third phase of the program, NASA provided $1.1 billion divided among three companies. This phase of the CCP was expected to last from June 3, 2012, to May 31, 2014. The winners of that round were SpaceX Dragon 2 (derived from the Dragon cargo vehicle), Boeing's CST-100 and Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser. The United Launch Alliance worked on human-rating their Atlas V rocket as part of the latter two proposals. Ultimately NASA selected the Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner with the Dream Chaser only receiving a cargo contract. The Crew Dragon began delivering crew in 2020, with the CST-100, who began delivering crew in 2024. On May 30, 2020, SpaceX launched Crew Dragon on the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. It carried a crew of two NASA astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, for a 62-day mission, which was incorporated as part of Expedition 63. This was the first crewed launch of a US-built capsule since the Apollo-Soyuz Test project on July 15, 1975. Hurley, who was the pilot for Atlantis on the final Shuttle mission, STS-135, commanded the Demo-2 mission. Operational use of the Crew Dragon began with the launch of SpaceX Crew-1, carrying four astronauts, on November 16, 2020. The crew joined Expedition 64. Of the crew, only Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi had previously flown on the Space Shuttle. On the other hand, on June 5, 2024, Boeing launched Starliner on the CFT mission to the International Space Station. It carried a crew of two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, for a 8-day short mission, albeit extended to more than a month in length due to propulsion issues. Wilmore, who was the pilot for Atlantis on the 129th Shuttle mission, STS-129, commanded the CFT mission.
== Gallery ==
== See also == Commercial Crew Development Criticism of the Space Shuttle program List of Russian human spaceflight missions
== References ==
== External links == NASA Space Shuttle Portal