KSC-2014-3922

KSC-2014-3922 - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Former astronaut Bob Cabana, center, director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, speaks at the start of the announcement ceremony to name the providers of the next generation of crewed American spacecraft. Speaking from Kennedy’s Press Site, Cabana detailed the importance of the development effort by the agency's Commercial Crew Program for United States space exploration ambitions and the economic potential of creating new markets in human space transportation. Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts to complete the design of the CST-100 and Crew Dragon spacecraft, respectively, and begin manufacturing for flight tests with a goal of achieving certification to take astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017. The Commercial Crew Transportation Capability CCtCap contract also covers the beginning of operational missions for these new spacecraft and their systems. NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz, from left, Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, Kathy Lueders, manager of the agency's Commercial Crew Program, and former International Space Station Commander Mike Fincke also took part in the announcement. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann