NASA awards space taxi contract

[Marnoot]

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/09/16/nasa-awards-space-taxi-contract/?intcmp=latestnews

They gave a contract to both Boeing and SpaceX, though Boeing got a larger one. Good to see we won't be reliant on the Rooskis for more than a few more years.

[MillCreek]

I was just looking around on the Net and could not find the answer to this question: Is the CST-100 designed to land on dry land or water?  I see it has a parachute landing system with airbags, and drop tests of the system were done over the desert.

[Marnoot]

Looks like designed for ground landing, but built to survive an unexpected water landing:

Although the CST-100 is designed to land on the ground, Boeing engineers worked with NASA and Department of Defense search-and-recovery personnel to test several emergency water-extraction scenarios.
“Crew safety is our top priority,” said Alex Diaz, Boeing director for the testing.  “A water landing is unlikely, but it’s important that we test the spacecraft in all potential scenarios.”