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 use Atlas V rockets for future test flights of its commercial astronaut capsule (CST-100), with three "space taxi" flights slated for 2015, including a manned trip to the International Space Station.
This plan is contingent on additional funding from NASA, which is investing in commercial crew programs to replace the retired shuttle program and enable U.S. astronauts to launch from American soil.
The Atlas V, produced by the United Launch Alliance (a Boeing/Lockheed Martin joint venture), was chosen for its proven reliability and cost-effectiveness, having successfully launched 27 times.

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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.”