NASA is testing the airbag system for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, the replacement for the shuttle.
A part of the project was ILC Dover, Frederica.
Although designed to land on land, Boeing is testing the Starliner to ensure a safe landing for astronauts in any situation.
Starliner is being developed in partnership with NASA to carry up to four astronauts at a time to the International Space Station. An additional crew member will allow science time on the orbiting laboratory to double for NASA’s #JourneytoMars and research that will benefit everyone on Earth.
Boeing’s CST-100 spacecraft is designed to be a reusable, capsule-shaped spacecraft capable of taking up to seven people, or a combination of people and cargo, to and from low-Earth orbit, including the space station.
Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas, Nev., provided the capsule test article and associated electronics. HDT Airborne Systems of Solon, Ohio, designed, fabricated and integrated the parachute system, including the two drogue parachutes. ILC Dover designed and fabricated the landing air bag system.
Image Credit: NASA/David C. Bowman
