TORONTO – It looks like something out of a science fiction movie, but for Boeing, its new spacecraft is very close to becoming a reality.
Boeing’s new CST-100 was unveiled on Monday and it was the first time the media was able to take a peek inside.
Boeing is one of three American companies working with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program which seeks to develop safe and reliable crew transportation system to be used for both government and commercial interests.
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The exterior of the craft may resemble the Apollo era, but inside, it’s anything but reminiscent of the moon-landing days. Blue LED lights illuminate the interior and, instead of countless switches and knobs, tablet technology is used.
“What you’re not going to find is 1,100 or 1,600 switches,” said Chris Ferguson, director of Boeing’s Crew and Mission Operations and a former NASA astronaut. “When these guys go up in this, their primary mission is not to fly this spacecraft, their primary mission is to go to the space station for six months. So we don’t want to burden them with an inordinate amount of training to fly this vehicle. We want it to be intuitive.”
Two four-hour sessions were held and astronauts Serena Aunon and Randy Bresnik donned NASA’s familiar orange launch-and-entry suits and tested their maneuverability inside the capsule. Boeing engineers monitored communications and equipment.
The CST-100 will seat five crew members, but it could accommodate up to seven or a combination of crew and cargo.
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