Target Date For First Launch From U.S. Soil Still 2017

NASA, Boeing and SpaceX will hold a news briefing on at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston at 1200 EST on Monday, Jan. 26, to highlight key development activities, test plans and objectives for achieving certification of two American crew transportation systems.

Under Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts for NASA’s Launch America initiative, Boeing and SpaceX will develop safe and reliable crew transportation to and from the International Space Station on American spacecraft launched from the United States.

The panelists are:

• NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
• Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa
• Commercial Crew Program Manager Kathy Lueders
• Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Space Exploration John Elbon
• President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell
• NASA astronaut Mike Fincke

NASA says this initiative returns the American industry to the forefront of human exploration technology and operations and ends the nation’s sole reliance on Russia for crew transportation to the space station.

FMI: www.nasa.gov