NASA and Boeing are continuing preparations ahead of Starliner’s second
uncrewed flight to prove the system can safely carry astronauts to and from
the International Space Station.
Teams inside the Starliner production factory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
in Florida recently began fueling the Starliner crew module and service
module in preparation for launch of Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) at 2:53
p.m. EDT on Friday, July 30. The fueling operations are expected to complete
this week as teams load propellant inside the facility’s Hazardous
Processing Area and perform final spacecraft checks.
Once fueling operations are complete, teams from Boeing and United Launch
Alliance (ULA) will prepare to transport Starliner to the Vertical
Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral
Space Force Station for mating with ULA’s Atlas V rocket. Beginning this
week, ULA will begin stacking, or assembling, the Atlas V rocket at the VIF
during an operation called Launch Vehicle on Stand (or LVOS).
In preparation for Starliner’s next flight, NASA and Boeing have closed all
actions recommended by the joint NASA-Boeing Independent Review Team, which
was formed as a result of Starliner’s first test flight in December 2019.
The review team’s recommendations included items relating to integrated
testing and simulations, processes and operational improvements, software
requirements, crew module communication system improvements, and
organizational changes. Boeing has implemented all recommendations, even
those that were not mandatory, ahead of Starliner’s upcoming flight.
“I am extremely proud of the NASA and Boeing Starliner teams as they
methodically work toward the OFT-2 mission next month with final checks of
the crew module and service module hardware and software as we prepare for
this important uncrewed test mission,” said Steve Stich, NASA Commercial
Crew Program manager. “Closing all of the Independent Review Team findings
for the software and communications systems is a huge milestone for the
Commercial Crew Program and included many long hours of testing and reviews
by our dedicated Boeing and NASA teams during this Covid-19 pandemic.”
In the weeks ahead, mission control teams in Florida and Texas will continue
conducting simulated mission dress rehearsals for the uncrewed OFT-2 and
follow-on crewed missions. Starliner’s landing and recovery teams also will
perform an on-site checkout of one of the vehicle’s landing zones.
During the OFT-2 mission, Starliner will test its unique vision-based
navigation system to autonomously dock with the space station and deliver
approximately 440 pounds, or roughly 200 kilograms, of cargo and crew
supplies for NASA. Starliner is expected to spend five to 10 days in orbit
before undocking and returning to Earth, touching down on land in the
western United States.
Providing Starliner’s second uncrewed mission meets all necessary
objectives, NASA and Boeing will look for opportunities toward the end of
this year to fly Starliner’s first crewed mission, the Crew Flight Test
(CFT), to the space station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore,
Nicole Mann, and Mike Fincke on board.
Boeing currently is refurbishing the first Orbital Flight Test crew module
for crewed flight along with outfitting a brand new service module. The CFT
Atlas V hardware is expected to arrive in Florida for processing next week
as teams prepare for both missions in parallel.
Boeing has designed and developed the Starliner spacecraft in support of
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to provide safe and sustainable commercial
transportation services for crew and cargo to the International Space
Station and low-Earth orbit destinations.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with industry through a
public-private partnership to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective
transportation to and from the International Space Station, which will allow
for additional research time and will increase the opportunity for discovery
aboard humanity’s testbed for exploration. The space station remains the
springboard to space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and
eventually to Mars.