spacetoday.net: Boeing selects Atlas 5 for commercial crew vehicle

Posted: Fri, Aug 5, 2011, 8:07 AM ET (1207 GMT)
Atlas 5 with CST-100 (Boeing illus.)

Boeing announced Thursday it will carry out the test flights of its commercial crew spacecraft on Atlas 5 rockets. Boeing's CST-100 will be launched on three test flights in 2015 using the Atlas 5 412, the variant of the Atlas 5 that uses a single strap-on solid booster and a twin-engine Centaur upper stage. The deal also includes work to make upgrades to the Atlas 5's Florida launch site to support crewed launches. Boeing is one of four companies with funded agreements with NASA under its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program to begin initial development of spacecraft that could ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. If funded appropriately, Boeing believes its vehicle could begin such flights in early 2016. Two other CCDev companies, Blue Origin and Sierra Nevada Corporation, had previously indicated that they plan to use the Atlas 5 to launch their spacecraft, while the fourth, SpaceX, plans to use its own Falcon 9. CCDev progress will depend in part on the amount of money provided by Congress for the program, but a version of the NASA 2012 budget currently under consideration in the House would give CCDev less than half the requested funding.