Starliner is being prepared for certification for regular missions
On the morning of April 16 The Boeing CST-100 Starliner was installed on an Atlas 5 rocket in preparation for launch to the ISS on a crewed test flight. This milestone marks the completion of preparations for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission scheduled for the evening of May 6.
The spacecraft is removed from the Boeing Commercial Crew and Cargo Handling Facility at the NASA Space Center. Kennedy, was lifted and installed on top of an Atlas 5 rocket in the Vertical Integration Center building. This process, although technically challenging, was carried out with skill and impeccable precision, reflecting years of experience and engineering expertise.
The CFT mission will involve NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Lyn Williams, who will travel aboard Starliner to the ISS. They will spend about eight days on the station conducting scientific research before returning to Earth and landing in the southwestern United States.
In addition to technical aspects, the launch delay of one week, from May 1 to May 6, was caused by activity on the ISS, including revised departure schedules for the Dragon cargo ship and the relocation of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to free up a docking port on the Harmony module. for Starliner.
The CFT mission comes almost exactly two years after the second uncrewed test flight, OFT-2, in which Starliner successfully docked and returned to Earth. The first uncrewed test flight, in December 2019, experienced problems that prevented the spacecraft from reaching the station and returned to Earth just a couple of days later.
The main goal of CFT, as emphasized by Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing Starliner, is to thoroughly test the operation of spacecraft systems with a crew on board. This includes testing environmental systems, testing control interfaces, and assessing the ability of astronauts to take over control of the spacecraft if necessary.
Successful completion of the CFT mission will allow NASA to complete certification of Starliner for regular crew rotation missions, beginning with the Starliner-1 mission in early 2025. At a March briefing, Steve Stich, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said certification should be completed by November 2025.
The next scheduled test of Starliner's readiness for flight testing is scheduled for April 25, as well as the arrival of Wilmore and Williams at the Space Center. Kennedy on the same day to complete preparations for the mission.