Abstract

Headlines such as “NASA Astronauts Stranded in Space?” have stirred public attention, especially after the recent Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test. Fact or fiction, these reports highlight the challenges and progress within NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This presentation will review the program’s achievements, NASA’s collaboration with Boeing during the Starliner flight test, and the future of NASA’s commercial space partnerships. NASA envisions a vibrant, competitive commercial human spaceflight industry that supports a wide range of government and public applications in low-Earth orbit. Established in 2010, the Commercial Crew Program set out to provide safe, reliable astronaut transport to the International Space Station (ISS) and to foster the development of multiple U.S. launch providers. In 2014, NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing through fixed-price contracts to develop integrated spacecraft, launch, and support systems capable of carrying up to four astronauts to the ISS. The results of these partnerships reveal a promising path forward for U.S.-led commercial human spaceflight.

About the Speaker

Kim Ess is the manager of the Integrated Performance Office (IPO) in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. In this role, she is responsible for NASA insight, approval and selected independent verification and validation of the commercial partner’s integrated analysis of the launch vehicle and spacecraft performance through all phases of flight and for CCP integrated software certification. Technical disciplines managed by IPO in this effort include: software; aerodynamic; aerothermal; natural environments; flight mechanics; guidance, navigation, and control; loads; and dynamic environments. 

She is the recipient of several NASA awards, including the Silver Snoopy Award, an Exceptional Service Medal, a Silver Achievement Medal, a Spaceflight Achievement Award, and multiple Group Achievement awards. She was named a Distinguished Mechanical Engineer from the Mechanical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni at the University of Texas and received the Judith A. Resnik Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Ess earned a Bachler of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas.