The
CST-100 Starliner is a spacecraft design under construction by
Boeing in collaboration with
Bigelow Aerospace as their entry for
NASA's
Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. Its primary mission is to transport crew to the
International Space Station, and to private space stations such as the proposed
Bigelow Aerospace Commercial Space Station.
It is similar to the Orion, a spacecraft being built for NASA by Lockheed Martin. The capsule has a diameter of 4.56 meters (15.0 ft), which is slightly larger than the Apollo command module and smaller than the Orion capsule. The Starliner is to support larger crews of up to seven people. The CST-100 is designed to be able to remain on-orbit for up to seven months and for reusability for up to ten missions. It is to be compatible with multiple launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, Delta IV, and Falcon 9, as well as the planned Vulcan. The initial launch vehicle would be the Atlas V.
On September 16, 2014, NASA selected the CST-100, along with SpaceX's Dragon V2, for the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) program, with an award of $4.2 billion. The spacecraft is expected to fly to the International Space Station with an astronaut aboard by December 2017.
Eugene Francis "Gene" Kranz (born August 17, 1933) is a retired
NASA Flight Director and manager. Kranz served as a Flight Director, the successor to NASA founding Flight Director
Chris Kraft, during the
Gemini and
Apollo programs, and is best known for his role in directing the successful Mission Control team efforts to save the crew of
Apollo 13, which later became the subject story of a major motion picture of the same name. He is also noted for his trademark close-cut
flattop hairstyle, and the wearing of dapper white "mission" vests (
waistcoats), of different styles and materials made by Mrs. Kranz, during missions for which he acted as Flight Director. A personal friend to the American astronauts of his time, Kranz remains a prominent and colorful figure in the history of U.S. manned space exploration, literally, the embodiment of 'NASA tough-and-competent' of the Kranz Dictum. Kranz has been the subject of movies, documentary films, and books and periodical articles. Kranz is the recipient of a
Presidential Medal of Freedom.