Ars hops in Boeing’s “commercial space” spaceship, the CST-100
Ars Technica » Scientific Method 2013-07-22
Boeing took the curtain off its proposed commercial spacecraft this morning, allowing a limited number of press and media into one of its Houston facilities to crawl around inside a high-fidelity mockup. The spacecraft, designated the CST-100 (for "Crew Space Transportation"), is a large capsule, resembling a scaled-up version of the iconic Apollo command module.
The CST-100 seats up to seven astronauts and will primarily be used to transport people to and from destinations in Low Earth Orbit ("LEO"), such as the International Space Station. CST-100 is designed specifically as a LEO transport, but Low Earth Orbit is only one of a much larger set of potential destinations that Boeing and other commercial space flight companies hope to target, extending all the way out to interplanetary space. According to Boeing Space Exploration Vice President and General Manager John Elbon, each destination has its own set of requirements and challenges. So CST-100 is Boeing's attempt at creating a spacecraft specifically designed to be a LEO workhorse.
The capsule itself sits bedecked with ladders and cameras elevated on a stand in the high bay of Boeing's Houston Product Support center. When the press first approached the spacecraft, astronaut Serena Auñón was still strapped into one of the mockup's two seats, performing an evaluation of how her bright orange ACES flight suit worked with the spacecraft's internal layout. The press quickly mobbed her when she emerged from the craft and stepped down the ladder. When asked, Auñón reported that she was pleased with the cockpit and the work done so far.
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