NASA and Boeing are targeting no earlier than Thursday, March 25, for the launch of Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is a critical developmental milestone on the company’s path to fly crew missions for NASA. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is designed, built, tested and flown by a team committed to safely, reliably and sustainably transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
The target launch date is enabled by an opening on the Eastern Range; the availability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket; steady progress on hardware and software; and an International Space Station docking opportunity.
The company recently mated the spacecraft’s reusable crew module atop its brand-new service module inside the Starliner production factory at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams are working to complete outfitting of the vehicle’s interior before loading cargo and conducting final spacecraft checkouts.
Boeing also recently completed the formal requalification of Starliner’s OFT-2 flight software. Teams conducted a full software review and several series of tests to verify Starliner’s software meets design specifications. Boeing also will complete an end-to-end simulation of the OFT-2 test flight using flight hardware and final versions of Starliner’s flight software to model the vehicle’s expected behavior before flight.
The OFT-2 mission will launch Starliner on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, dock to the space station and return to land in the western United States about a week later as part of an end-to-end test flight to prove the system is ready to fly crew.
Quelle: Boeing
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Update: 2.02.2021
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NASA, Boeing Test Crew Return and Recovery Procedures
Landing and recovery teams from Boeing and NASA recently completed a crew landing dress rehearsal at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, in preparation for missions returning with astronauts from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
When astronauts land after their journey to the space station on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, recovery teams must be able to remove the crew from the capsule quickly. In the unlikely event of a medical emergency, Boeing and NASA also partner with local trauma teams who are trained to provide the highest level of coordinated, specialized care.
“We are working with Level 1 trauma centers that are fully staffed and have a full complement of doctors and nurses for a variety of conditions and disciplines, allowing us to plug into a network of the best very quickly,” said Michael Schertz, Boeing Starliner medical coordinator and a leader on the landing and recovery team.
During the training exercise, the team simulated a scenario in which a crew member needed to be transferred to The University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) in Albuquerque via an Air Center medical helicopter. UNMH is the only academic health center in the state and serves as the primary teaching hospital for The University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine, which means their staff uses cutting edge medical research, technology and specialty patient care.
“While the likelihood of a medical incident requiring this level of care is small, we just don't know enough to rule out the risk. As such, we prepare for the worst in the hope we never need it,” said Chris Ferguson, Boeing astronaut and director of Commercial Crew Mission Integration and Operations.
Boeing’s Starliner is designed to land on land, and is expected to touch down at one of five potential landing zones in the western United States, including two in New Mexico, and one in Utah, Arizona and California. Safety teams are coordinating with the University of Utah Health for the Utah landing site, Banner - University Medical Center Tucson, an academic hospital affiliated with the University of Arizona, for the Arizona landing zone, and Edwards Air Force Base for California landings.
During the final “run-for-record,” obstacles were introduced in order to simulate an emergency scenario, in which the team succeeded at locating the Starliner, configuring capsule support equipment, opening the hatch and removing the crew in less than an hour.
“The landing and recovery teams work ‘on the clock,’” Ferguson said. “There are reasons why the crew should be extracted from the spacecraft within a fixed time of about an hour. This takes all the skill, coordination and practice of a racing car pit crew. As such, this was the teams’ graduation event, and they did very well. I was very proud of their performance.”
Most of the landing sites are very remote and can experience extreme temperature swings within a 24-hour period. There is also wildlife, including poisonous scorpions and snakes that can injure staff. This is factored into the plans ensuring redundancy is in place to transport anyone who needs care without hindering the landing and recovery operations.
These exercises are a necessary step in preparing the teams for all aspects of a mission ahead of Boeing’s second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2), as well as crewed flights to the space station.
“Commercial Crew Program missions do not end until crew members are safely out of the Starliner,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “Training exercises like this are essential to ensuring the entire team is prepared for every scenario.”
Boeing also trains with the White Sands and Dugway Fire Departments, and several Cochise County municipalities to ensure this continuity of care is available at all of the potential landing sites.
“While we bring many of our own resources to support a landing, we rely heavily on the local authorities for assistance with security and protection of the public during landing events,” Ferguson said. “The trauma teams at our medical facilities also have been very interested to participate and learn from the NASA experts about space medicine. As spaceflight becomes more commonplace, there will be a growing need for familiarity with this field. It’s a very special role, and they have risen to meet it.”
NASA and Boeing are targeting no earlier than March 25 for the launch of OFT-2, and summer 2021 for the company’s Crew Flight Test (CFT). CFT crew members Barry “Butch” Wilmore, Mike Finke and Nicole Mann continue to train for the inaugural crewed flight test of the Starliner spacecraft.
NASA Invites Media to Prelaunch, Launch Activities for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2
Media accreditation now is open for prelaunch and launch activities for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station, the second uncrewed flight test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is targeted for no earlier than March 25 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The uncrewed mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of Starliner and the Atlas V rocket from launch to docking to a return to Earth in the desert of the western United States. Following a successful completion of the OFT-2 mission, NASA and Boeing are targeting no earlier than September 2021 for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), Starliner’s first flight with astronauts aboard.
OFT-2 and CFT will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular flights with astronauts to and from the space station.
Media also may apply separately for a photo opportunity during the rollout of the Starliner spacecraft from Boeing’s Commercial Cargo and Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The operational activity is targeted for approximately 4 a.m. EST on Wednesday, March 10.
Media accreditation deadlines for both OFT-2 launch and the photo opportunity are as follows:
- U.S. media interested in being on-site for a photo opportunity of Starliner rollout must apply for credentials by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17.
- U.S. media interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply for credentials by 4 p.m. Monday, March 1.
- U.S.-based International media without U.S. citizenship interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply by 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11.
All accreditation requests should be submitted online at:
NASA continues to monitor developments related to the coronavirus pandemic, and Kennedy will grant access to only a limited number of media to protect the health and safety of media and employees. Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions at Kennedy, international media coming from overseas will need to follow quarantine requirements.
The agency will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the agency’s chief health and medical officer, and will immediately communicate any updates that may affect media access for this launch.
For questions about media accreditation, email ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other questions, contact Kennedy’s newsroom at 321-867-2468.
Reporters with special logistics requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, tents, electrical connections, or work spaces, must contact Kristi Irastorza at kristina.irastorza@nasa.gov by Friday, Feb. 25.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil. The goal of the program is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the 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 NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 19.02.2021
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Texas power outages delay Boeing’s repeat Starliner test launch
OFT-2 now scheduled for no earlier than April 2
Sweeping power outages across Texas are also impacting space operations. Boeing announced Wednesday the repeat orbital test flight of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will be pushed at least one week because of winter storm-related impacts and launch preparations.
Starliner is Boeing’s spacecraft designed to fly NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, however, the company must finish a series of tests before the U.S. space agency gives it the OK to fly humans on board.
To earn the human spaceflight certification, Boeing will launch an uncrewed Starliner capsule atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, dock at the space station and return it home as part of an orbital test flight. This will be the second attempt for Boeing’s Starliner OFT after a December 2019 test flight ended early following a computer timing error.
Boeing and NASA were targeting March 25 but in an update, Wednesday Boeing said operations preparing for launch are being impacted by the power outages caused by the storm covering most of the country in snow, including in Texas where Boeing has a facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Other factors also led to the delay.
NASA said shifting the launch date will allow more time for spacecraft and hardware processing.
Boeing also “recently replaced avionics units affected as a result of a power surge due to a ground support equipment configuration issue during final checkouts,” according to NASA.
Boeing is now targeting no earlier than April 2.
“NASA and Boeing teams in Houston are now contending with widespread power outages and other winter storm-related impacts in the region. Despite this, the team remains focused on the safety and quality of the spacecraft and a successful launch no earlier than April 2,” an update from Boeing read.
Flight preparations are ongoing and the company recently completed software tests, according to the update.
Prior to this flight, Boeing and NASA completed an extensive review of the ill-fated December 2019 orbital test flight, which ended 48 hours after launch. Boeing has made corrective actions to the spacecraft software and is moving ahead.
“We appreciate the significant work NASA is undertaking ahead of launch,” Boeing Starliner’s vice president and program manager John Vollmer said in a statement. “We’re fully engaged in the agency’s review process to ensure confidence in the spacecraft.”
If the March OFT-2 goes well, the spacecraft will dock at the ISS and return to Earth, landing in New Mexico.
Following a full review of the test, Boeing could fly its first astronaut crew in December, according to NASA’s most recent timeline. NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, Mike Fincke and Barry “Butch” Wilmore will be the first to fly in Starliner to the ISS when it does happen.
Quelle: WKMG-TV
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Update: 20.04.2021
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Next Starliner test flights slips to late summer
WASHINGTON — Boeing said April 17 that the next test flight of its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle won’t take place until at least August, confirming a lengthy delay widely expected because of the schedule of other launches and International Space Station missions.
In a statement, Boeing said that the company and NASA are projecting the uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 mission will take place in August or September. That date is “supported by a space station docking opportunity and the availability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Eastern Range.”
Boeing had been working toward a launch of OFT-2 in late March or early April. However, by early March, NASA officials acknowledged that was no longer likely because of delays from the replacement of avionics units on the spacecraft that were damaged by a power surge during ground tests, as well as power outages in the Houston area caused by a winter storm in February that interrupted software testing.
Neither NASA nor Boeing provided an updated launch date at the time, but noted the mission was unlikely to launch in either April or May. That was due to Soyuz and Crew Dragon missions to the ISS scheduled for launch in April, and the May launch of an Atlas 5 carrying a military spacecraft.
At an April 15 briefing about the upcoming Crew-2 Crew Dragon mission, Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, said another factor was the next cargo Dragon mission to the space station, scheduled for launch in early June. That spacecraft, along with the Crew-2 spacecraft, will occupy the only two docking ports Starliner can use, meaning it can’t launch until after the cargo Dragon departs in mid-July.
“Right now, the windows that we’re looking at are the August-September time frame for OFT-2,” he said.
Boeing, in its statement, said that the Starliner flying OFT-2 will be “mission-ready” in May and the company “will evaluate options if an earlier launch opportunity becomes available.” For now, though, there are no plans to delay the cargo Dragon mission in June, in part because it is carrying solar panels NASA wants to get to the station as soon as possible to begin a long-anticipated upgrade of the station’s power supply.
Stich said at the briefing that NASA and Boeing will take advantage of the delay to do additional software testing. Software issues were at the root of several major problems with the original OFT flight in December 2019, cutting the mission short and preventing the spacecraft from docking with the ISS.
“Boeing expects to conclude all software testing in April and will support the agency’s post-test reviews as needed,” the company said, adding that it is completing all the recommendations made a year ago by an independent review, including those not considered mandatory before the spacecraft’s next flight.
Despite the delay in OFT-2, NASA and Boeing said they are still working to make the vehicle’s first crewed flight, the Crew Flight Test, before the end of the year. Stich said at the briefing that the current target for that flight is the fourth quarter.
That would mean the crewed flight would be no more than four months after OFT-2, while previous schedules suggested a gap of about half a year between them. Boeing said it is working to “enable the shortest turnaround time possible between flights while maintaining its focus on crew safety,” including having the three NASA astronauts who will fly that mission perform tests in the Starliner that will launch on OFT-2.
Quelle: SN
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Update: 8.05.2021
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Boeing's Starliner 2nd orbital flight test moved up to July
If you thought the first half of 2021 was busy for launches, things really heat up for the rest of the year. Somehow Boeing was able to squeeze into the busy launch schedule and secure July 30 for the uncrewed launch of Starliner to the International Space Station.
If this date sticks, all eyes will be on Boeing's second attempt to prove its Starliner spacecraft can successfully dock with the space station after software issues hampered the first attempt in December 2019.
Since then Boeing has worked closely with NASA to update its software and complete end-to-end flight simulations.
Boeing and NASA recently flew an end-to-end simulation of the orbital flight test-2 mission. The five-day, 110-hour test resulted in a successful space station docking and landing.
NASA contracted Boeing along with SpaceX to build and operate spacecraft to carry astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station as part of its Commercial Crew program.
This orbital flight test will move Boeing one step closer to launching crews. SpaceX, meanwhile has already launched three crewed missions to the ISS.
Boeing's Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Quelle: Florida Today
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Starliner test flight scheduled for July 30
WASHINGTON — NASA and Boeing have scheduled a second uncrewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft for July 30.
In separate statements, the agency and the company said they were planning to launch the Starliner on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 at 2:53 p.m. Eastern July 30 on the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 mission. A launch that day would allow the spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station on the evening of July 31.
The new launch date comes after NASA and Boeing completed an “integrated mission dress rehearsal” for the mission using a simulator at a Boeing facility in Houston. The five-day simulation covered activities starting 26 hours before launch and going through landing, including docking and undocking from the station.
“It provided another opportunity to run the software end to end with the highest-fidelity hardware and mission controllers in the loop to simulate as close to an actual flight as possible,” John Vollmer, Starliner vice president and program manager at Boeing, said in a company statement.
In addition to performing the dress rehearsal, Boeing has completed all the actions recommended by an independent review team after the original OFT mission in December 2019, which suffered several problems that prevented it from going to the ISS. NASA noted in its statement that those actions are “pending closure” by the agency.
The Starliner that will fly the OFT-2 mission is, at this point, largely ready. Boeing will now focus on processing the spacecraft that will be used for the later Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission until it’s time for prelaunch activities for OFT-2 in midsummer.
While the spacecraft is nearly ready, Boeing has to wait until late July to launch because of both launch schedules on the Eastern Range as well as vehicles visiting the ISS. Starliner can dock at one of two ports on the station, one of which is currently occupied by the Crew-2 Crew Dragon spacecraft. The other will be used by a cargo Dragon mission launching June 3 and scheduled to remain at the station through mid-July.
“The traffic model up there on ISS is something else,” Bob Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center, said during a Space Transportation Association presentation May 6 when mentioning the status of the OFT-2 mission, shortly before the NASA and Boeing statements about the new launch date. “Between all the different resupply vehicles and the different crew vehicles going back and forth, it’s getting hard to find a spot to dock up there.”
However, the new launch date is still slightly earlier than expected. In mid-April, NASA officials said they were projecting a launch of OFT-2 in August or September. Boeing said at the time that the Starliner would be “mission-ready” in May should an earlier launch window become available.
NASA and Boeing are holding out hope that, if OFT-2 does launch this summer, it can still fly the CFT mission with three NASA astronauts on board before the end of the year. Cabana said they wanted to fly CFT “hopefully later this year.”
At a meeting of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel May 6, panel member David West said there was “good confidence within NASA” about the launch readiness for OFT-2. However, he added there are “several open items that will require resolution” before the CFT mission, but didn’t elaborate on those issues.
Later in the meeting, another panel member, Amy Donahue, said that NASA and Boeing had finalized plans to conduct an organizational safety assessment of the company. The panel, at its February meeting, complained that NASA had yet to start that safety culture audit, and called on the agency to perform the audit before the CFT mission. NASA said it had delayed the assessment because of complications in conducting it caused by the pandemic.
Donahue said a joint NASA-Boeing team will conduct the assessment “very soon,” and that the results of the assessment should be ready to present at the panel’s next meeting in July.
“We continue to believe that safety culture assessment must be performed soon to ensure that any lingering systemic issues related to risk management, quality and safety are identified and corrected,” she said, “certainly before CFT takes place but now even before OFT-2.”
Quelle: SN
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Update: 10.05.2021
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Boeing’s Starliner System Completes Full Space Station Mission Simulation
NASA and Boeing recently completed an integrated mission dress rehearsal of Starliner’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The campaign conducted largely inside Boeing’s Houston-based Avionics and Software Integration Lab (ASIL) culminated in a five-day end-to-end mission simulation known as the ASIL Mission Rehearsal, or AMR.
Gearing up for the program’s first AMR took several months of preparation configuring hardware and software, routing communications channels, mapping simulated sensor data, verifying flight procedures, and completing weeks of dry runs.
“The AMR is one of many examples of Boeing’s commitment to flying NASA astronauts as safely as possible,” said Chad Schaeffer, commercial crew software certification manager. “The joint Boeing and NASA system and software teams have worked very closely to prepare for the OFT-2 mission, including building stronger relationships and improved processes that are paying dividends for our commercial crew missions.”
Mission operation teams inside flight control rooms at Johnson Space Center in Houston commanded the simulation using actual flight procedures. The run for record began 26 hours before launch and continued through docking, space station quiescent operations, 32 hours of power up procedures ahead of undocking, then landing and power down.
NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Mike Fincke monitored every dynamic event from inside the lab using crew displays connected to the simulator. Wilmore and Fincke will fly aboard Starliner’s Crew Flight Test along with NASA astronaut Nicole Mann. Launch control teams at Boeing’s Mission Control Center in Florida participated in the rehearsal along with United Launch Alliance (ULA), which supported onsite in Houston after testing Starliner’s hardware inside its own Denver-based integration lab earlier this year.
“I can feel that on the NASA/Boeing team, there is a deep passion for spaceflight and doing what it takes to have a successful mission,” said NASA astronaut Mike Fincke. “I am glad to be on this team.”
An AMR will be conducted before every future flight serving as an additional confidence and integration test recommended by the NASA/Boeing Joint Independent Review Team as a result of Starliner’s first test flight. With the conclusion of the AMR, all the review team’s recommended actions relating to Starliner software are complete and pending closure by NASA. Boeing and NASA will continue supporting post-test reviews and updating the software to include lessons learned from the AMR campaign.
NASA and Boeing are targeting 2:53 pm EDT Friday, July 30, for the launch of Starliner’s next test flight, OFT-2.
“We’re feeling very confident in the software with the success of end-to-end testing,” said John Vollmer, Starliner program manager. “This campaign is about more than just our next mission. We’re working to ensure the safety and success of all future Starliner flights for NASA and every commercial customer to come.”
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 23.05.2021
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Media accreditation is open for prelaunch and launch activities for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station, the second uncrewed flight test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Liftoff on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Starliner is targeted for 2:53 p.m. EDT Friday, July 30, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The uncrewed mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket from launch to docking to a return to Earth in the desert of the western United States. Following a successful completion of the OFT-2 mission, NASA and Boeing are targeting late 2021 for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), Starliner’s first flight with astronauts aboard.
OFT-2 and CFT will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular flights with astronauts to and from the space station.
U.S. media also may apply separately for a photo opportunity during the rollout of the Starliner spacecraft from Boeing’s Commercial Cargo and Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The operational activity is targeted for approximately 4 a.m. EDT Saturday, July 17.
Media accreditation deadlines for both OFT-2 launch and the photo opportunity are as follows:
- U.S. media interested in being on-site for a photo opportunity of the Starliner rollout must apply for credentials by 4 p.m. Friday, June 25.
- U.S. media interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply for credentials by 4 p.m. Friday, July 2.
- U.S.-based international media without U.S. citizenship interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply by 4 p.m. Friday, June 11.
All accreditation requests should be submitted online at:
NASA continues to monitor developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and Kennedy will grant access to only a limited number of media to protect the health and safety of media and employees. Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions at Kennedy, international media coming from overseas will need to follow quarantine requirements.
The agency will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the agency’s chief health and medical officer and will immediately communicate any updates that may affect media access for this launch.
For questions about media accreditation, email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other questions, contact Kennedy’s newsroom at: 321-867-2468.
Reporters with special logistics requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, tents, electrical connections, or workspaces, must contact Jerry Bernfeld at: jerrold.s.bernfeld@nasa.gov by Friday, July 9.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil. The goal of the program is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the 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 NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 2.06.2021
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NASA evaluating schedule, launch date forecasts for Artemis 2
NASA is currently forecasting that Artemis 2 will be ready to launch no earlier than (NET) September 2023, but similar to attempting to forecast when Artemis 1 will be ready to launch, there is also uncertainty in when Artemis 2 might fly. The second joint test flight of NASA’s Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) vehicles will be the first to fly a four-person crew after Artemis 1 goes on an uncrewed lunar orbit mission.
Assembly, integration, and testing of the Artemis 2 Orion and SLS flight hardware continues in the U.S. and Europe independently of Artemis 1 for now, but some Orion hardware from Artemis 1 is still expected to be needed for reuse. The global COVID pandemic is also still having an effect on production activities, which could also affect when Artemis 2 is ready to launch.
Quelle: NS