Boeing Starliner CST-100

(Note : there is no commercial relationship between Boeing Starliner and Swiss Space Tourism, a non-profit Association).

Wikipedia reference, February 2019

The CST-100 Starliner (CST is an acronym for Crew Space Transportation) is a reusable spacecraft capable of carrying a crew of seven astronauts proposed by Boeing in collaboration with Bigelow Aerospace. CST-100 is one of three ships developed in response to the US Space Agency’s CCDeV bid, NASA, which was launched in 2010 to resume a task previously performed by the US Space Shuttle, which was withdrawn in 2011 .

CST-100 was selected by NASA in September 2014 with the Dragon V2 spacecraft to transport the crews of the International Space Station.

CST-100 is a vessel with external characteristics similar to those of the Apollo vessel but which can carry up to seven astronauts and incorporates the system responsible for ejecting the capsule in case of launcher failure.

The tapered crew module has a diameter of 4.5 meters and should accommodate a crew of seven.

In September 2013, the CST-100 Starliner command thrusters were tested, allowing the spacecraft to maneuver and slow down.

In September 2011, a first test of the airbag system took place. In April 2012, the main parachute system was tested for the first time. From three kilometers high, a prototype was deposited in the Nevada desert. In July of the following year, Boeing presented a model of the CST-100 Starliner capsule. Two NASA astronauts (Serena Aunon and Randolph Bresnik) tested the interior. In September 2013, the CST-100 Starliner command thrusters were tested, allowing the spacecraft to maneuver and slow down. The first unmanned orbital test flight is scheduled for August 2019.

The astronauts sit in two rows one on the other, four in the lower part and three in the upper part. The capsule will feature wireless internet, “Sky Lighting” LED lighting, Soyuz-like shock-absorbing seats, and modern tablet-like computers. At the top is the coupling adapter.