NASA Commercial Partner Spacex Completes Crew Accommodations Milestone

May 8, 2012

Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1979
michael.j.braukus@nasa.gov

Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov

Kirstin Brost Grantham
SpaceX
202-649-2716
media@spacex.com

RELEASE: 12-150

NASA COMMERCIAL PARTNER SPACEX COMPLETES CREW ACCOMMODATIONS MILESTONE

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has
finished an important evaluation of a propotype Dragon spacecraft
designed to carry people into orbit. This key milestone is part of
SpaceX's partnership with NASA under a funded Space Act Agreement to
advance the design of crew transportation vehicles.

The primary goal of the tests was to determine whether the layout will
allow astronauts to maneuver effectively in the vehicle. Several
veteran space shuttle astronauts and NASA engineers conducted the
evaluation during a pair of two-day-long reviews.

"I am very pleased with the progress SpaceX and our other commercial
partners are making during the CCDev2 effort," said NASA Commercial
Spaceflight Director Philip McAlister. "Together with NASA's
development of beyond low-Earth orbit systems, commercial crew and
cargo transportation is an integral part of our overall human
spaceflight program."

As part of the Commercial Crew Development Round 2, or CCDev2,
agreement, the company invited the astronauts and engineers to its
headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., to conduct the evaluation. The
prototype was equipped with seats, lighting, environmental control
and life support systems, conceptual displays and controls, cargo
racks and other interior systems.

"This milestone demonstrated the layout of the crew cabin supports
critical tasks," said SpaceX Commercial Crew Development Manager
Garrett Reisman. "It also demonstrated the Dragon interior has been
designed to maximize the ability of the seven-member crew to do their
job as effectively as possible."

During the reviews, space shuttle veterans Rex Walheim, Tony
Antonelli, Eric Boe and Tim Kopra participated in so-called "human
factor assessments." This included entering and exiting Dragon under
normal and emergency scenarios. They also performed reach and
visibility evaluations.

"As an anchor customer for commercial transportation services, we are
happy to provide SpaceX with knowledge and lessons learned from our
50 years of human spaceflight," said Commercial Crew Program Manager
Ed Mango. "We appreciate the opportunity SpaceX gave us to provide
feedback on these critical interior systems while the company
maintains its flexibility to appeal to other customers."

This is the seventh of 10 milestones SpaceX must meet under the CCDev2
agreement, which continues through July 31. This includes the
development of a launch abort system for crew escape during launch or
ascent.

All of NASA's industry partners continue to meet their established
milestones in developing safe, reliable and affordable commercial
crew transportation capabilities.

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew


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