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Crewed Spacecraft

NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the hub of the United States’ crewed spaceflight efforts. Located in Houston, Texas, JSC is renowned for its leadership in developing and operating crewed spacecraft. Johnson is responsible for the design, testing, and management of spacecraft systems that ensure the safety and success of human spaceflight missions. JSC’s work includes developing the Orion spacecraft for deep space exploration, and collaborating with commercial partners through the Commercial Crew Program to foster advancements in spaceflight. Its state-of-the-art facilities and expertise in human spaceflight make it a pivotal hub for pioneering space exploration. Read more about JSC’s role in these Programs below.  

Orion Spacecraft

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. On Artemis missions, Orion will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion will launch on NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System.

Read More:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/orion-spacecraft/

(Nov. 28, 2022) On flight day 13, Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission when it was 268,563 miles away from our home planet. Orion has now traveled farther than any other spacecraft built for humans.

Commercial Crew Program

The mission of the Commercial Crew Program is to manage the development and operations for the end-to-end Crew Transportation Systems (CTS) to safely transport the crew to and from the International Space Station; to manage the CTS certification and flight readiness review process; and to manage all supporting technical and programmatic Partner Integration functions supporting the Program.

Read More:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/commercial-crew-program/

This mosaic depicts the International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021.
This mosaic depicts the International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021.
NASA
This first high-resolution image, taken on the first day of the Artemis I mission, was captured by a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays. The spacecraft was 57,000 miles from Earth when the image was captured, and continues to distance itself from planet Earth as it approaches the Moon and distant retrograde orbit.
Artemis I Prelaunch
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29 at 8:33 a.m. ET. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A two-stage United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test, Dec. 20, 2019. Liftoff occurred at 6:36 a.m. EST. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is the Starliner’s first flight for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 from right to left, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, mission specialist; Matthew Dominick, commander; Michael Barratt, pilot; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist; participate in the Crew Equipment Interface Test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-8 marks the ninth human spaceflight mission supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the eighth crew rotation mission to International Space Station. Crew-8 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than mid-February 2024.
SpaceX

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NASA astronaut Nick Hague participates in his second spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station's power storage capacity. He and fellow spacewalker Christina Koch (out of frame) of NASA worked outside in the vacuum of space for six hours and 45 minutes to continue swapping batteries and install adapter plates on the station's Port-4 truss structure.

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