LAS CRUCES, N.M. .

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne tests a thruster destined for Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft. The thruster was fired in a vacuum chamber that simulated a space-like environment of 100,000 feet at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M., to verify its durability in extreme heat, evaluate the opening and closing of its valves and confirm continuous combustion and performance. Twenty-four thrusters will be part of the spacecraft's orbital maneuvering and attitude control system OMAC, giving the CST-100 the ability to maneuver in space and during re-entry. The thrusters also will allow the spacecraft to separate from its launch vehicle if an abort becomes necessary during launch or ascent.

In 2011, NASA selected Boeing of Houston during Commercial Crew Development Round 2 CCDev2) activities to mature the design and development of a crew transportation system with the overall goal of accelerating a United States-led capability to the International Space Station. The goal of CCP is to drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before by balancing industry’s own innovative capabilities with NASA's 50 years of human spaceflight experience. Six other aerospace companies also are maturing launch vehicle and spacecraft designs under CCDev2, including Alliant Techsystems Inc. ATK, Blue Origin, Excalibur Almaz Inc., Sierra Nevada Corp., Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance ULA. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Image credit: Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne