Boeing prepares for historic launch
Boeing has begun the process of refueling the Starliner capsule ahead of its first crewed launch. The mission, called Crew Flight Test (CFT), is scheduled for early May and will take place on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic coast of Florida. Starliner will send NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS for 10 days.
March 18 Boeing announced significant progress in preparations for launch — the start of the process of refueling the Starliner capsule, which will take about two weeks.
Refueling takes place at the Boeing Crew and Cargo Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, located adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
«The refueling process is carried out by a team of technicians and engineers working with fluids, fuels and electrical engineering. Engineers monitor the entire operation, including the spacecraft's sensors and valves, as well as the environmental conditions inside the C3PF», — Boeing said in a brief update Monday.
In September 2014, NASA entered into multibillion-dollar contracts with Boeing and SpaceX as part of the program for commercial manned flights to the ISS. SpaceX has already completed eight crewed flights to the ISS for the agency, as well as one crewed test flight. However, Starliner has not yet sailed with people on board.
The Boeing capsule underwent two unmanned test flights. Starliner encountered a number of problems during its first mission, launched in December 2019, and was unable to reach the ISS as planned. However, in the second attempt in May 2022, the docking was successful.
The launch of CFT was scheduled for last year, but was delayed several times due to technical problems. The main problems were with the suspension of the Starliner's main parachutes and the fact that most of its wires were wrapped in flammable tape. However, these problems have been resolved, and NASA and Boeing officials have said that CFT will be ready for launch this spring.