Carnival of Space 372

Carnival of Space 372 is up at EverydaySpacer

Completely Clandestine CLIO Climbs through Clouds to Orbit on Mystery Mission

United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the CLIO mission for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company launched at 8:10 p.m. EDT September 16, 2014 from Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Credit: Ken Kremer – kenkremer.com

Nextbigfuture – NASA will pay longtime space company Boeing $4.2 billion and SpaceX $2.6 billion to certify, test and fly their crew capsules on as many as six missions. The deal will end NASA’s expensive reliance on Russia to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. NASA has set a goal of 2017 for the first launch from Cape Canaveral, but stressed it will not sacrifice safety to meet that date. Each contractor will conduct at least two, and as many as six, crewed missions to the space station. These spacecraft also will serve as a lifeboat for astronauts aboard the station. The Boeing CST-100 is designed to transport up to seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit destinations such as the international space station.

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