The three main parachutes on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft carry to a landing in the Pacific Ocean during a drop test. Credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies (or SpaceX) has successfully drop-tested a capsule designed to take cargo and crew to the International Space Station.

The capsule, called Dragon, was dropped from 4,240 meters to validate its parachutes and splashdown systems. It has three main parachutes, each 35 meters wide, which are used to slow the spacecraft's descent, and thrusters that fire to help it navigate to it's landing location. Eventually, SpaceX wants to bring the capsule down on land. The drop test was the final in a series of tests designed to ensure that the spacecraft is ready for its maiden test flight on the Falcon 9 rocket, scheduled for later this year.

"Data gathered during the drop test will be invaluable as we prepare for the upcoming demonstration flight of the first operational Dragon spacecraft," said Chris Thompson, SpaceX vice president of structures in this Space.com article.

SpaceX received a $1.6 billion contract from NASA to provide the agency with a launch vehicle and spacecraft to carry cargo to the space station, with the option of manned missions, once the space shuttles retire next year. Cargo-carrying flights are scheduled to begin in 2011, and SpaceX says crew capabilities can be ready within three years of NASA's orders.

An artist rendering of Boeing's CST-100. Credit: Boeing

Boeing is building a capsule to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station and to future private space stations. Yesterday, at a media briefing, the company presented designs of its cone-shaped spacecraft, which is bigger than the Apollo capsule of the 60s and 70s, but smaller than NASA's possible future crew capsule, Orion. Boeing also announced a partnership with Bigelow Aerospace, a private company that is building inflatable space habitats with plans to launch the first private space station by 2014.

Boeing's new spacecraft, called CST-100, is being built through an $18 million award from NASA under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Space Act Agreement, which is intended to stimulate the private sector to develop human spaceflight capabilities. The company has a long history with NASA, and hopes to be the first private company to build a capsule that could take cargo and astronauts to the space station, helping fill the gap when the shuttles retire. But Boeing is not the only company with such ambitious plans. Orbital Sciences Corporation and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) are also in the midst of developing similar designs with funding from NASA.

While NASA could be a good customer for Boeing, servicing the government agency alone would probably not support the business case for the vehicle. So the company's partnership with Bigelow, which is in need of a transportation system to its space-based habitats and future space station, is essential.

According to Aviationweek.com,

Bigelow has at least two variants of space stations it is working on. Pricing for utilization would be $79 million - $95 million per year under a four-year lease, depending on the station's size, plus just under $25 million per seat for each crew member, Bigelow says. Three-quarters of Bigelow's revenue would go toward space transportation providers.

And on the CST-100 design:

An abort system would involve a "pusher" system, rather than the traditional arrangement of small rockets that pull a manned vehicle away from a launcher in distress, Boeing officials say. The advantage is that if the abort system is not used, the fuel would then be available for maneuvering in orbit.

The CST-100 could stay on orbit as long as seven months. After returning to Earth via ballistic re-entry while protected by an ablative shield, it would be slowed by parachutes to settle on dry land. The capsule could then receive a new heat shield and be refurbished to fly again. The CST-100 is being designed for a life of up to 10 missions for each vehicle.

Boeing did not announce when the spacecraft would be ready to fly, and it is not certain which rocket it will launch on--the company is designing it to be compatible with a variety: United Launch Alliances' Delta IV and Atlas V, and SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

Last week NASA successfully tested the launch pad abort system designed for the Orion crew spacecraft. The system is meant to allow the crew to escape should a catastrophe occur during the first few seconds of flight. Read Technology Review's article on how it works. Here is an exert from the article:

The new escape system would separate the crew module from the launch rocket in a fraction of a second with a small, controlled explosion. Almost simultaneously, a solid rocket motor would fire, providing a million pounds of thrust to accelerate the module from 0 to 600 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds, pulling the astronauts to a safe distance before the module's parachutes deploy.

Last week's test, shown in the video below, took place at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It was the first fully-integrated test for the system. The data gathered will be important for the design and development of future systems.

NASA originally intended to send the Orion crew exploration vehicle and the escape system into space aboard the Ares rockets by 2015 as part of its Constellation Program. Under President Obama's new budget proposal, which calls for the cancellation of the Constellation Program, Orion will instead be used as an emergency crew spacecraft on the International Space Station.

I recently spoke with Antonio Elias, executive vice president and general manager of Advanced Programs at Orbital Sciences Corporation, a VA-based commercial space company providing design and development support of the system. He said that a launch abort system is vital unless we completely abandon human spaceflight, and it is very likely that Orbital will continue to build NASA's future escape systems.