Boeing, Bigelow conduct CST-100 drop test over Nevada desert

Boeing and Bigelow Aerospace, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management Ely District’s Caliente Field Office, conducted a relatively-quiet spacecraft parachute drop test of Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft this past April 3rd. The event, attended by local media and several bystanders, occurred over a remote playa in Delamar Valley, located 50 miles north of [...]

The CST-100 successfully touches down on the playa amid a puff of dust. (Credit: BLM)
Boeing and Bigelow Aerospace, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management Ely District’s Caliente Field Office, conducted a relatively-quiet spacecraft parachute drop test of Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft this past April 3rd. The event, attended by local media and several bystanders, occurred over a remote playa in Delamar Valley, located 50 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Personnel inspect the CST-100 following the parachute drop test. (Credit: BLM)
Using an Erickson Sky Crane helicopter, the test was carried out by lofting a test capsule to an altitude of 7,000 feet and releasing it, putting the parachute deployment systems through their paces under true field conditions.
Boeing Commercial Programs Vice-President and Program Manager John Mulholland called the parachute drop test of the CST-100 a “…tremendous ...