Despite several delays and technical issues, Boeing is preparing to launch its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a contract with NASA.
Boeing's Starliner is scheduled to lift off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, June 1 at 12:25 p.m. The crew capsule will ride aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams to and from the space station.
NASA will broadcast the launch live Website and the space agency's YouTube Channel, and you can also tune in via the feed below. Launch coverage will begin at 8:15 a.m. ET. Boeing will also telecast the launch live Website.
It's been a nail-biting journey to get to this point, and obviously the impending release has us very nervous. The company had originally targeted May 6 for Starliner liftoff, but a last-minute malfunction in one of the Atlas V rocket's pressure valves The team delayed the test flight to May 17. A few days before the start, the Starliner teams A small helium leak was detected In the spacecraft's service module, it prompted them to push the launch to May 21 before it was delayed indefinitely.
Earlier this week, Boeing announced that it had decided to fly astronauts aboard the leaky Starliner without addressing the issue. Boeing vice president Mark Nappi said its factory, AFP, had sent the Starliner spacecraft to repair the leak. reported. Instead, Starliner crews will monitor the leak ahead of Saturday's launch.
Boeing Crew Flight Test It is part of NASA's Commercial Crew program and is used to transport personnel and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). $4.3 billion A contract with the Space Agency. SpaceX, NASA's other commercial partner, sent its eighth crew to the space station.
Starliner's first uncrewed test flight in 2019 It managed to reach space, but a software automation glitch caused the spacecraft to burn too much fuel, preventing it from reaching the ISS. The Starliner had miscalculated its position in space, due to a glitch caused by a faulty mission timer.
The first flight failed, prompting NASA to call for a second test flight of an empty spacecraft before a crew could board. By May 2022, Boeing is done Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), the second uncrewed test flight of the Starliner, set the stage for a crewed test flight. But OFT-2 encountered a few hiccups A thrust failure used for orbital maneuvering.
Boeing's crew initially set the Starliner launch for February 2023, then pushed it back to late April and finally moved it to July 21, 2023. However, a few weeks before the flight took off, the company announced it. Stands down from launch attempt Including a mile's worth of flammable tape that had to be manually removed to solve new problems in the crew vehicle.
Despite all these setbacks, NASA remains committed to the Starliner program and has two commercial partners carrying its astronauts into low Earth orbit. Along with the leaky spacecraft, Saturday's launch is a major test of NASA's relationship with private companies.
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