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Raumfahrt - Startvorbereitung für Testflug von OFT2 Boeing Starliner -Update-3

21.07.2021

Boeing crew capsule mounted on Atlas 5 rocket for unpiloted test flight

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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft emerges from the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing facility early Saturday. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

Boeing’s second Starliner crew ferry spacecraft rolled out of its factory early Saturday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for mounting on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket set for liftoff July 30 on a redo of a problem-plagued unpiloted test flight in 2019.

The human-rated spaceship, which has yet to be cleared to fly astronauts, emerged from Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility near NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building before dawn Saturday, riding a spacecraft transporter for the several-mile journey to ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility at the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

ULA’s ground crew attached a four-point lifting sling for the overhead crane in the VIF to hoist the Starliner spacecraft atop the Atlas 5 rocket, which was already stacked on a mobile launch platform inside the vertical hangar.

Teams completed work to attach the spacecraft to the Atlas 5 rocket over the weekend, setting the stage for an integrated systems test, a “tip-to-tail” checkout of the entire vehicle.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft emerges from the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing facility early Saturday. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

Boeing is gearing up for the second unpiloted orbital test flight of a Starliner spacecraft, a redo of the company’s first Starliner demonstration mission in December 2019. Software problems prevented the spacecraft from docking with the International Space Station on that mission, resulting in a premature but successful landing of the capsule in New Mexico.

The Starliner spacecraft was developed under contract with NASA, which has signed a series of contracts with Boeing valued at more than $5 billion to design, build, and test the crew-rated spaceship.

Assuming the upcoming mission, called Orbital Flight Test 2, goes as planned, NASA will clear Boeing to launch the Crew Flight Test late this year or in early 2022. That mission will carry three astronauts to low Earth orbit on a final verification flight before Boeing’s two reusable Starliner capsules begin regular crew rotations to and from the space station.

The start of crew rotation services using Boeing’s crew capsule will give NASA two U.S.-made vehicles capable of flying astronauts to the International Space Station, plus Russia’s Soyuz capsule, which was the only ship ferrying space station crews from 2011 until 2020.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft emerges from the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing facility early Saturday. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now

SpaceX’s commercial Crew Dragon capsule flew astronauts to the space station for the first time in May 2020.

Boeing appeared to be on the cusp of launching the Crew Flight Test in 2020, but Boeing and NASA officials agreed to fly a unpiloted test mission after the 2019 demonstration flight failed to meet all of its objectives.

A joint NASA-Boeing review team issued 80 recommendations to beef up software testing, update simulations and processes, improve the crew module communication system, and make organization changes. Boeing says the Starliner team has closed out all 80 of the recommendations, including modifying software code and running it through more rigorous testing.

NASA and Boeing officials plan to convene a Flight Readiness Review Thursday to formally clear the Starliner for launch. A Launch Readiness Review on July 27 will provide another opportunity for managers to discuss the status of launch preps.

The Starliner spacecraft on top of ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Boeing/Damon Tucci

The 172-foot-tall (52-meter) Atlas 5 rocket and Starliner spacecraft will roll out to pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 28.

The launch countdown Friday, July 30, will begin before dawn. ULA’s launch team will oversee loading of liquid propellants into the Atlas 5 rocket ahead of liftoff set for 2:53 p.m. EDT (1853 GMT).

The rocket’s Centaur upper stage will deploy the Starliner spacecraft about 15 minutes after launch, and the capsule will use its own maneuvering rockets to reach a stable orbit and begin the flight to the International Space Station.

Assuming an on-time launch July 30, the Starliner is scheduled to automatically dock with the station at 3:06 p.m. EDT (1906 GMT) on Saturday, July 31.

With a launch on July 30, the Starliner spacecraft is tentatively set to undock from the station and land under parachutes Aug. 5. On that date, the primary landing zone will be at White Stands, New Mexico.

Quelle: SN

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Update: 30.07.2021

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Boeing's Starliner launch delayed after Space Station incident

The Starliner's shot at redemption after its 2019 flop has been postponed.

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After a very public failure in 2019, Boeing and its Starliner spacecraft have a shot at redemption with their upcoming second test flight.

But it will have to wait for now.

The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 mission was originally scheduled to launch on Friday, but it was scrubbed due to an unexpected incident at the International Space Station where it was set to dock. The next launch opportunity is Tuesday at 1:20 p.m. ET.
While NASA assures space station crew "was never and is not in any danger," flight controllers noticed an unplanned firing of thrusters on the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module on Thursday. NASA and Boeing decided to stand down from Friday's launch to give ISS teams more time to conduct checkouts of the newly arrived module, dubbed Nauka.

The Starliner had already been rolled onto the launchpad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday in preparation for Friday's highly anticipated launch before it was called off.

The mission is seen as critical for Boeing, as it has yet to launch astronauts for NASA while its Commercial Crew program competitor SpaceX has flown multiple crewed missions to the space station in addition to multiple cargo flights. Boeing is also still reeling from the fallout related to issues with its 737 Max jets. If the Starliner launch fails again, it is difficult to see how it will be able to remain competitive against SpaceX for NASA contracts.

NASA and Boeing blamed errors in automation and software issues for the botched launch in December 2019, saying mission clocks were not in sync and thus timing errors prevented Starliner from reaching the orbit it needed in order to get to the space station. Rather than reach the space station, the Starliner landed in White Sands, New Mexico.

While the spacecraft is unmanned, an anthropometric dummy dubbed "Rosie the Rocketeer" will be aboard the Starliner. The 180-pound test device will sit in the commander's seat of the capsule for the test flight, and its sensors will be used to collect data on how the launch will impact eventual human passengers. She was named after the World War II icon Rosie the Riveter, and is meant to honor women pioneers in aerospace.

Boeing also said it will be paying tribute to more than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities during the flight test. Among the cargo inside the spacecraft are flags, small pennants and other items "representing HBCUs from throughout the U.S.," according to a statement from the company.

As the mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew program, the space agency will carry live coverage of the launch on its website and social media handles. Further information on how to watch is expected to be released once a new launch date is confirmed.

Quelle: abcNews

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Update: 2.08.2021

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NASA Updates Coverage, Invites Public to Virtually Join Starliner Launch

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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41.
Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky

NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch, launch, and docking activities for the agency’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station. OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission is targeted to launch at 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3

 

Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About 30 minutes after launch, Starliner will perform its orbital insertion burn to begin its daylong trip to the space station. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock to the space station at 1:37 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4. Launch and docking coverage will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

 

The spacecraft will carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies to the space station. It will return to Earth with more than 550 pounds of cargo, including the reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.

 

OFT-2 will demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket, from launch, to docking, to a return to Earth with a desert landing in the western United States. The uncrewed mission will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular flights to and from the space station.

 

The deadline has passed for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch. More information about media accreditation is available by emailing: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.

 

NASA has updated its coronavirus (COVID-19) policies to remain consistent with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. Credentialed media will receive additional details from the media operations team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

 

NASA’s Boeing OFT-2 mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):

 

Tuesday, Aug. 3

 

12:30 p.m. – NASA TV launch coverage begins for a targeted 1:20 p.m. liftoff. NASA TV will have continuous coverage through Starliner orbital insertion.

 

3:30 p.m. (approximately) – Postlaunch news conference on NASA TV. Participants will include:

  • Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
  • TBD, NASA’s International Space Station Program.
  • John Vollmer, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program.
  • John Elbon, chief operating officer, United Launch Alliance.

 

Media may ask questions in-person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

 

 Wednesday, Aug. 4

 

10:30 a.m. – NASA TV rendezvous and docking coverage begins.

 

1:37 p.m. (scheduled) – Docking

 

Thursday, Aug. 5

 

8:30 a.m. – NASA TV hatch opening coverage begins

 

8:40 a.m. – Hatch opening

 

9:40 a.m. (approximately) –Welcoming remarks

 

NASA TV Launch Coverage

 

NASA TV live coverage will begin at 12:30 p.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:

 

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

 

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.

 

On launch day, a “clean feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz and UHF radio frequency 444.925 MHz, heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.

Quelle: NASA

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Update: 3.08.2021

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Starliner resets for next launch attempt after ISS problems

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WASHINGTON — NASA and Boeing say they’re ready to make a second attempt to launch the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on an uncrewed test flight after an incident at the International Space Station called off the first attempt last week.

Starliner was scheduled to launch July 30, but a temporary loss of attitude control at the station July 29, caused by thruster firings of the Nauka module several hours after it docked with the station, led NASA to postpone the launch. “We want to ensure the space station is in a stable configuration and ready for Starliner to arrive,” Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, said at a July 29 briefing.

The next opportunity to launch Starliner was Aug. 3, assuming the station was able by then to support a docking. NASA announced late July 30 that they were proceeding with a launch that day, in an instantaneous launch window at 1:20 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Weather forecasts project a 60% chance of acceptable weather for the launch.

A launch on Aug. 3 would set up Starliner for a docking attempt at 1:37 p.m. Eastern Aug. 4. Starliner would remain at the station until Aug. 9, undocking at 9:08 a.m. Eastern and landing at White Sands, New Mexico, about four hours later.

After the postponement of the first launch attempt, United Launch Alliance rolled the Atlas 5 rocket carrying Starliner back to its assembly building July 30 to protect the vehicle from the weather. The rocket is slated to roll back out to the pad Aug 2.

No other servicing of the spacecraft was planned before the next launch attempt. “Starliner and the Atlas are in a good configuration, and they can stay in the config they’re in for quite a number of [launch] opportunities,” Stich said.

While NASA confirmed plans for the next launch attempt, it’s said little about the incident with Nauka that caused the delay. There have been no other issues reported with the new module since its docking, and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov entered the module for the first time July 30.

Vladimir Solovyov, designer general of RSC Energia and flight director of the Russian segment of the ISS, said in a Roscosmos statement July 30 that the thruster firing was caused by a software problem. “Due to a short-term software failure, a direct command was mistakenly implemented to turn on the module’s engines for withdrawal, which led to some modification of the orientation of the complex as a whole,” he said.

Neither NASA nor Roscosmos have disclosed additional information about the problem and how they ensured it would not happen again. At the July 29 briefing, NASA officials played down the severity of the problem, which the agency originally said caused the station to drift 45 degrees out of its intended attitude.

“We have all sorts of contingency plans,” Joel Montalbano, NASA ISS program manager, said at the July 29 briefing. Station controllers “were seeing goodness come to us fairly quickly and we able to get us back to a stable attitude within the hour.”

However, the situation may have been more serious than what NASA originally claimed. Publicly available telemetry showed much greater excursions in roll, pitch and yaw during the hour it took to restore the station’s attitude.

“Reports of ISS only being 45 degrees out were premature,” Zebulon Scoville, a NASA ISS flight director, tweeted July 30. “We proceeded to do headstands and cartwheels. Olympic judges would be proud.”

Quelle: SN

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Launch Tuesday, August 3

  • Rocket: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
  • Mission: Boeing Starliner capsule's Orbital Flight Test-2
  • Launch Time: 1:20 p.m. ET
  • Launch Complex: 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
  • Weather: 60% Go
  • Backup launch window: Aug. 4

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Update: 5.08.2021

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Starliner glitch delays launch

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WASHINGTON — A problem with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle scrubbed a launch attempt Aug. 3, pushing back its uncrewed test flight by several days.

Boeing announced about three hours before the scheduled 1:20 p.m. Eastern liftoff that the launch had been postponed for the day. In a statement a short time later, the company said engineers detected “unexpected valve position indications in the propulsion system” of the spacecraft.

The problem was originally noticed during checkouts of the spacecraft after lightning in the vicinity of the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station the day before. The spacecraft, atop its Atlas 5 rocket, rolled out to the pad early that day. The company didn’t elaborate on the issue or why they scrubbed the launch at that point in the countdown.

The company had not reported any other issues with the spacecraft during the countdown. Weather remained questionable, though, with a 50% chance of acceptable conditions at liftoff.

“We’re disappointed with today’s outcome and the need to reschedule our Starliner launch,” John Vollmer, Boeing vice president and program manager of its commercial crew program, said in a statement. “Boeing and NASA teams will take the time they need to ensure the safety and integrity of the spacecraft and the achievement of our mission objectives.”

Late Aug. 3, NASA and Boeing announced they would not attempt a launch on the next opportunity, Aug. 4. Boeing said engineers had ruled out a number of potential causes, including software, and need more time to investigate the problem. Crews will roll the rocket back to its vertical integration facility on Aug. 4 to support additional investigation.

After Aug. 4, the next launch opportunity, based on orbital mechanics, is Aug. 7, but NASA and Boeing did not state when they thought they would be ready to make the next launch attempt.

The launch was scheduled for July 30, but postponed when the ISS temporarily lost attitude controlwhen thrusters on the Nauka module fired several hours after the module docked with the station July 29.

Starliner will launch on a mission called Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2, a rerun of the original OFT mission launched in December 2019. That mission suffered serious software problems after reaching orbit, calling off a docking attempt with the ISS and forcing the spacecraft to land after just two days.

An independent review in early 2020 made 80 recommendations to correct software issues with Starliner as well as communications problems it experienced during the flight. NASA and Boeing confirmed in prelaunch reviews for OFT-2 that the company had closed out all the recommendations.

A successful OFT-2 mission would allow NASA and Boeing to proceed with a crewed flight test with three NASA astronauts on board as soon as the end of this year, although industry sources believe a launch in the first half of 2022 is more likely. It would leave Boeing at least a year and a half behind SpaceX, which first launched astronauts on its Crew Dragon spacecraft in May 2020 and is currently in the middle of its second operational mission to the station.

“It’s extremely important to us that we’re successful on this flight. With all that we’ve done over the past 18 months, we are very confident that we are going to have a good flight,” Vollmer said at a July 22 briefing about the upcoming OFT-2 mission. “It is of paramount importance that we have a successful flight.”

Quelle: SN

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Update: 7.08.2021

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Boeing's Starliner rolled back inside so engineers can assess valve problem

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Boeing’s Starliner was supposed to finally have its moment to shine Tuesday after technical problems, COVID-related delays and even an unusual incident at the space station all prevented it from launching over the past 18 months.

Instead, the capsule stood under stormy skies until it was towed from the launchpad back to the Vertical Integration Facility on Thursday so engineers can inspect the valve issue that prevented launch.

John Vollmer, VP of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program said that he was disappointed, a sentiment shared by many.

“Human spaceflight is a complex, precise and unforgiving endeavor, and Boeing and NASA teams will take the time they need to ensure the safety and integrity of the spacecraft and the achievement of our mission objectives," he said in a statement.

Boeing has been under enormous pressure to show its spacecraft — designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station — is reliable after software issues hampered its first orbital flight test in Dec. 2019. But Starliner will have to wait a little longer to prove it is safe to fly NASA astronauts to the space station.

On Monday, after thunderstorms passed through the area, Boeing engineers re-tested some systems which is standard protocol when lightning strikes near the launch complex. That's when the team detected Starliner's propulsion system valves were malfunctioning. 

Because it is common to work issues during a countdown, the teams commenced with fueling on Tuesday but ultimately halted the launch because some of the propulsion system valves were still not operating correctly. 

Boeing teams have already run several tests and ruled out a number of potential causes, including software. Boeing said the storms appears to be an unlikely cause, but they will inspect for water or electrical damage while the spacecraft is in the VIF.

 

To make matters worse, now Boeing is under a time crunch due to scheduling conflicts at the space station and at the launch site. 

If teams can determine the cause of the issue and resolve it quickly, there’s still a slim chance it could launch on Saturday or Sunday. 

But if it’s a bigger problem or engineers can't access the components in the VIF, then the spacecraft will need to be removed from atop its Atlas V booster and returned to Boeing’s facility at Kennedy Space Center. That could delay the launch a couple weeks or even months. 

For starters, SpaceX is slated to launch its next cargo resupply mission the space station on Aug. 29 and it needs an open docking port so Starliner would have to launch to the station and depart before then or wait until after SpaceX is slated to leave the station on Sept. 29.

But then things get busy for United Launch Alliance, which is set to launch NASA’s asteroid mission in early October and needs time to prepare and stack the Atlas V rocket.

Regardless of the time pressure, Boeing says it will not launch until the team is ready.

“We’re going to let the data lead our work,”  Vollmer said. “Our team has worked diligently to ensure the safety and success of this mission, and we will not launch until our vehicle is performing nominally and our teams are confident it is ready to fly.”

Quelle: Florida Today

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Update: 10.08.2021

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Starliner investigation continues

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WASHINGTON — Boeing is continuing its investigation into the thruster issue that delayed the launch of its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle but could soon run into schedule conflicts on both the International Space Station and with its launch vehicle.

In an Aug. 6 statement, Boeing said it was continuing to study why several valves in the propulsion system of the spacecraft were unexpectedly in the closed position during the countdown to the Aug. 3 launch attempt of the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 mission, an uncrewed test flight. Boeing scrubbed the launch about three hours before the scheduled liftoff because of the problem.

The Starliner, atop its Atlas 5 rocket, is back in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, allowing engineers access to the spacecraft. They were able to open some valves by issuing a new set of commands.

“Cautiously optimistic is a good way to describe how the team is feeling,” John Vollmer, Boeing vice president and commercial crew program manager, said in a statement.

What caused the valves to malfunction isn’t clear, although Boeing said in an earlier statement that they had ruled out software problems. One possibility is damage such as water intrusion during a severe thunderstorm shortly after the rocket was rolled out to the pad Aug. 2.

Neither NASA nor Boeing have set a new launch date for the OFT-2 mission. Boeing said in its statement that it is “assessing multiple launch opportunities for Starliner in August” and will work with NASA and United Launch Alliance to determine an appropriate launch date.

NASA, in its own statement Aug. 6, said it and Boeing “will continue to evaluate schedules based on where the troubleshooting efforts take them before deciding when the next official launch for the OFT-2 mission will take place.”

A combination of factors could force an extended delay if the OFT-2 mission does not launch by late August. A Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the CRS-23 cargo mission to the ISS Aug. 28. It will use the same docking port as Starliner will for OFT-2, meaning that if OFT-2 does not complete its mission by late August, NASA will either have to postpone CRS-23 or wait until that mission is done, likely no earlier than late September.

By that point, however, ULA will need to focus on preparations for its next Atlas 5 launch, NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission. That mission has a three-week launch window that opens in mid-October. The Atlas 5 for OFT-2 would have to be “de-stacked” and the one for Lucy assembled in the VIF, with the spacecraft then installed and tested. Given the narrow window for Lucy, additional testing of the vehicle is likely to find any problems well ahead of the opening of the launch window.

An additional complication is that this will be taking place during the height of the tropical weather season, with the potential for tropical storms and hurricanes delaying launches or launch preparations by days.

If OFT-2 does not launch by the time its Atlas 5 needs to be de-stacked to prepare for the Lucy mission, the next opportunity may not be until November, after the SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-3 mission launches at the end of October and the Crew-2 mission returns home, freeing up a docking port for Starliner.

Quelle: SN

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Update: 14.08.2021

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NASA, Boeing to Provide Update on Starliner’s Orbital Flight Test-2

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Editor's Note: This advisory was updated Aug. 12 to update the list of briefing participants.

NASA and Boeing are continuing discussions on the status of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, and will host a joint media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 13, to discuss the second uncrewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station, as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

 

Participants in the briefing will be:

 

  • Kathryn Lueders, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations
  • Joel Montalbano, manager or NASA’s International Space Station Program
  • Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
  • John Vollmer, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program

 

Audio of the teleconference will livestream online at: 

 

https://www.nasa.gov/live

 

To participate in the teleconference, media must contact the newsroom at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov by 12 p.m. for the dial-in information.

 

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. After launch, Starliner will dock to the space station before returning to Earth in the western United States as part of an end-to-end test flight to prove the system is ready to fly with crew aboard.

Quelle: NASA

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Update: 15.08.2021

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Boeing Starliner headed back to the factory to find cause of valve problem

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The second attempt of Starliner’s orbital flight test will not happen this month and possibly not this year.

Boeing's Starliner, designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, was set to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on August 4 but issues with the propulsion system valves halted the countdown.

Boeing says teams have worked “around the clock” to fix nine of the 13 broken oxidizer valves but four of them remain stuck in the closed position.

“I’m a little sad because I really wanted to go fly,” said Kathy Lueders, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations. “But these are the kind of things you want to find on the ground.”

The failed valves were on thrusters that control both orbital maneuvering as well as controlling the spacecraft during rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.

“We would not have launched unless we had all the valves open,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s manager of the Commercial Crew program. “We stopped the launch because we knew we wouldn’t have had propellent flow to those orbital-maneuvering and attitude-control engines and also the reaction-control system engines.”

After more than a week of trying to fix the valve problems plaguing the Starliner spacecraft, Boeing still hasn’t discovered what caused the issue in the first place.

John Vollmer, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, explained that these valves were used during the pad abort test and during the first orbital flight test attempt without any incident.

“We really had no reason to suspect any issues with the valves,” Vollmer said.

But Vollmer said the most probably cause is corrosion due to moisture.

Boeing teams working on the propulsion system valve problem that halted the second attempt of the Starliner's orbital flight test.
Boeing teams working on the propulsion system valve problem that halted the second attempt of the Starliner's orbital flight test.  
BOEING

“There was moisture on the quote dry side of the valve and that interaction, we believe, created some nitric acid and that nitric acid resulted into some corrosion,” he explained.

 

After the spacecraft rolled out to the launchpad Aug. 2, it sat out overnight during a thunderstorm. Vollmer said the storm was severe enough to disrupt the covers that protect the thrusters but says the rain was not a direct cause.

“The moisture we saw on the valve is atmospheric moisture. It is not intrusion moisture," he said. 

At this point, the spacecraft will need to be removed from the Atlas V rocket and taken back to Boeing’s manufacturing facility at Kennedy Space Center for further work.

“We’ve got to go back and look and see if there was some ambient moisture that was retained in there during the assembly of these valves or was there something that caused a leak of moisture to get in there?” Vollmer said.

One thing is clear, Starliner won’t be launching in August and finding a window in the busy launch schedule for the rest of the year will be difficult.

“It's probably too early to say whether it’s this year or not. We certainly hope for as early as possible. If we could fly this year it would be fantastic,” Vollmer said.

Boeing has been under enormous pressure to show its spacecraft is reliable after software issues hampered its first orbital flight test in Dec. 2019. 

NASA selected two providers, SpaceX and Boeing, to be launch providers capable of carrying astronauts to the space station to encourage competition and to end America's reliance on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

SpaceX has already sent three crewed missions to the ISS since Boeings failed uncrewed test flight.

“I know this is very, very hard on our NASA Boeing team," Lueders said. "We are committed to continue to work with Boeing on bringing on their crew transportation."

Quelle: Florida Today

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Russian specialists ready to help US Starliner project — Roscosmos

NASA’s ISS program manager Joel Montalbano said the Starliner launch will not take place before mid-October

The director general of Russia’s Roscosmos state-run space corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, said Russian specialists were ready to assist their US colleagues in solving problems of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

"Since it is a matter of the ISS [International Space Station] maintenance, we reaffirm our readiness to provide expert support to our US colleagues," Rogozin wrote in his Telegram channel.

In his words, the M.V. Keldysh Research Center - an affiliate of Roscosmos and the Russian space industry's leading rocket engine designer and manufacturer - was ready to send a team of its scientists to the United States.

On July 29, NASA said it had postponed Starliner's launch to the ISS, originally due on July 30. The delay was then attributed to the unexpected activation of the science module Nauka's engines following its docking with the ISS. Starliner's launch was postponed till August 3, but several hours before the expected blastoff Boeing said that it was considering a further delay till August 4. Eventually the company said that Starliner's launch that was scheduled for Wednesday, August 4, had to be postponed indefinitely due to the need for re-checking its readiness.

A source in the space rocket industry told TASS on Tuesday that Starliner's flight to the ISS had to be postponed due to problems with the capsule's propulsion system valves. The source said it was unclear when the spacecraft might be brought to the launch pad again.

Meanwhile, NASA’s ISS program manager Joel Montalbano said on Friday, the Starliner launch will not take place before mid-October.

Quelle: TASS

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Update: 22.08.2021

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Boeing Starliner back at factory to diagnose and fix the propulsion system valves

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Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returned to its factory at Kennedy Space Center this week but it wasn't the homecoming anybody hoped for.

Starliner, designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, was set to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Aug. 3 for its second orbital flight test but problems with the propulsion system valves halted the countdown.

Engineers discovered that 13 oxidizer valves were stuck in the closed position.  The failed valves were on thrusters that control both orbital maneuvering as well as controlling the spacecraft during rendezvous and docking with the space station.

Over the next few days, the Boeing team was able to get nine of the valves to open but four of them remain stuck in the closed position.

John Vollmer, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, said that a moisture issue is most likely the cause of the problem

“The moisture we saw on the valve is atmospheric moisture. It is not intrusion moisture," said on a call with reporters. 

Now that Starliner is back at Boeing's factory, the team will resume deeper level troubleshooting. 

“We’ve got to go back and look and see if there was some ambient moisture that was retained in there during the assembly of these valves or was there something that caused a leak of moisture to get in there?” Vollmer said.

Boeing is working with their partners at Aerojet Rocketdyne, the company that manufactures the propulsion system, to solve the problem. 

The second attempt of Starliner’s orbital flight test will not happen this month and Vollmer said it's too soon to project when or if it will launch this year.

Boeing has been under enormous pressure to show its spacecraft is reliable after software issues hampered its first orbital flight test in Dec. 2019. 

NASA selected two providers, SpaceX and Boeing, to be launch providers capable of carrying astronauts to the space station to encourage competition and to end America's reliance on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

SpaceX is getting ready to send its fourth crewed mission to the space station on Oct. 31 carrying NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer.

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