its astrovantime –
When astronauts start flying the CST – 100, this is the van they’ll ride to the pad.
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Airstream is supplying Boeing with the Astrovan II as a transport to get astronauts to the CST – 100 Starliner, once Boeing actually gets ready to launch one into space.
Airstream
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The Astrovan II recently visited the nation’s capital.
Airstream
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From 1984 until 2011, NASA’s astronauts rode in this, the first Astrovan. It’s also made by Airstream, if the bare aluminum skin and curvy lines didn’t give that away.
Airstream
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The crew of STS – 95 about to board the first Astrovan. Next stop — space!
NASA
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The Astrovan II doesn’t have the modernist flair of the original, but I’m willing to bet it’s a more practical vehicle for a space-suit wearing astronaut to clamber in and out.
Airstream
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It’s (astro) van time?
Airstream
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STS – 135 Commander Chris Ferguson settles in the driver’s seat of NASA’s silver Astrovan back in 2011. This was the last time an Airstream transported astronauts to their launch vehicle, although that tradition will continue with CST – 100.
NASA / Kim Shiflett
“Everything was better in the old days” can be an appealing sentiment, particularly in these trying times. It’s not true, of course — everything wasn’t better back in the day, and human memory is excellent at ignoring all the horrible, terrible bits and just hanging on to the happy ones. But that doesn’t mean all progress is necessarily great, either. Exihibit A: Astrovan II, the new vehicle meant to transport NASA’s astronauts to the launchpad of the still-not-ready CST – 100 Starliner crewed capsule.
In the old days, when NASA still had its own crew-rated launch capability, those crews made the nine-mile journey to the launchpad in style. From 1984 untilthe end of the Space Shuttle program, that meant getting into a modified Airstream Excella RV, dubbed the Astrovan. Astronauts and Airstream have a fair amount of history — one of the company’s distinctive shiny aluminum trailers was also used as theMobile Quarantine Facilityfor the Apollo program. So when Boeing wanted a new transport for forthcoming NASA missions using the CST – 100, it too turned to the Ohio-based manufacturer.
The result is Astrovan II, built on a modified Airstream Atlas Touring Coach, which itself begins life as a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van chassis. “The original Astrovan played an important role in America’s Space Shuttle era. Many will remember seeing that familiar silver bullet exterior heading out to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center. We’re excited for Astrovan II to continue Airstream’s part in helping put Americans into orbit , “said Bob Wheeler, CEO and president of Airstream.
I am sure that the new Astrovan II will be well-suited to the needs of the astronauts it will transport, and since it’s not built with 1980 s powertrain technology, it will hopefully burn less fuel as it drives back and forth across Kennedy Space Center. But for a relatively short journey like that, wouldn’t it have been neat if it ditched the internal combustion engine altogether for a bunch of batteries and some electric motors? But really, my main issue is aesthetic because the original Astrovan — like most of Airstream’s polished shiny trailers — just looked so darn cool. And Astrovan II looks like a panel van.
OK, perhaps I’m being a little unkind — a quick look at Airstream’s lineup shows it doesn’t currently offer a curvy aluminum RV any more — if you want that retro look, you also need a tow vehicle because it’s only available with an Airstream trailer. But more than that, the news that CST – 100 is getting its own crew transport just reminds me that we first saw the CST – (pressure shell) back in 2011. Our own Lee Hutchinson evengot to play with a full-size CST – 100 demonstratorin 2013. But as Eric Berger has reported, since then it’s just beendelayafterdelay. With any luck, Boeing will actually manage toconduct that pad abort testthis coming November.
Listing image by Airstream
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