Atlas V Rockets to Pick Up Where Shuttle Left Off

Bethany Whitfield

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 06:23 PM ET

Verified

** The Atlas V rocket during the recent
launch of NASA's Juno spacecraft.** United Launch Alliance

Key Takeaways:

Boeing plans to utilize Atlas V rockets for future test flights of its CST-100 commercial astronaut capsule, pending additional NASA funding.
The proposed plan includes three test flights in 2015, with one flight carrying Boeing test pilots to the International Space Station.
This initiative is part of NASA's broader effort to develop U.S. commercial crew transportation services, aiming to replace the retired Space Shuttle program and end reliance on Russia for astronaut transport.

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Boeing has announced a plan to use Atlas V rockets to launch the company’s commercial astronaut capsule into space for a series of future test flights.

The plan is contingent upon additional funding from NASA, but Boeing’s vice president and program manager of commercial crew programs John Elbon maintains that, “This selection marks a major step forward in Boeing’s efforts to provide NASA with a proven launch capability as part of our complete commercial crew transportation service.”