shuttles, as well as the Apollo capsule. Ferguson said CST-100 is much more autonomous than Apollo or the shuttle. “It’s smart enough to know what to do, and it follows a script,” Ferguson said of CST-100, explaining that it will require far less training to operate. “The pilot will monitor while the spacecraft does the work. That’s the real big difference between the way Apollo worked and the way we’re working today,” Ferguson said, adding: “Someone once counted all the switches in the shuttle; there over a thousand. Everything was largely manual. The switches in the CST-100 are there to help the crew member do something quickly. The whole purpose of the instrument console has changed. Now, the only reason we have it is to assist if there’s a failure … Piloting is a lot less technique-driven and more straightforward than it was in the shuttle … You’re a systems monitor rather than an actively engaged pilot.” But that doesn’t mean the CST-100 won’t need an experienced and trained pilot. Recently, Boeing demonstrated, PHOTOS: (Far left) Main control panel in the 1960s-era Apollo Command Module. BOEING ARCHIVES (Below) NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik donned an orange “launch-and-entry” suit before entering the CST-100 full-scale mock-up last July to test how astronauts can move around inside the spacecraft. NASA as part of its agreement with the Commercial Crew Program, that a pilot could take manual control of the CST-100 and successfully fly it through various phases of a mission. It’s not unlike a pilot turning off the autopilot on a commercial jetliner and flying the airplane, Ferguson explained. Astronauts or crew members who pilot the CST-100 should welcome all the thought and Boeing innovation that has gone into the design, Ferguson said. “They’re going to like that it’s easy to train, the interface is intuitive, and we give the astronauts a manual docking ability,” he said. But regardless of who does the piloting—computer or person—the crew will be in for a much different spaceflight than previous space travelers. That’s because the interior of the CST-100 was designed with the passenger experience in mind, according to Ferguson and others on the CST-100 team. “In space when we think of travel, we think of the rigors. On the aircraft side of the business, they’re thinking of passenger experience,” Castilleja said. “We’re going from military-like interiors toward this inflection point of commercial space travel … the next step is to think about the human experience.” What began as a brainstorming workshop with Boeing Space Exploration engineers and a “Boeing Sky Team” from Commercial Airplanes materialized into a major differentiator for the spacecraft. In early 2012, Commercial Airplanes held a Product Development Grand Challenge competition to encourage employees to take 10 percent of their work time and come up with innovative ideas that might not be explored during their typical workday. Four employees from Commercial Airplanes, all with a passion for spaceflight, entered the competition as the Boeing Sky Team. Their proposal: Develop a business case for using elements of the new 737 Boeing Sky Interior for the CST-100 cabin. “We saw a parallel between what we do at Commercial Airplanes every day and Boeing’s future in space,” said Frontiers April 2014 25
Frontiers April 2014 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above