Photo: Twitter/@nasahqphoto
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft landed at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Wednesday, marking a six-day test orbital flight mission as it prepares to carry astronauts. The capsule landed at the Missile range after leaving the ISS (International Space Station) earlier in the day, Washington Post reported.
The six-day Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2 mission) is one of Boeing's most crucial test objectives, getting to the ISS and successfully docking. The mission is a critical milestone in the development of the Starliner.
Over the years, it had to deal with several obstacles. On the first flight attempt in 2019, the uncrewed capsule experienced a software anomaly, preventing it from docking at the ISS. Last year, the Starliner failed to get past the earth's skies during a second attempt due to an unexpected valve position in the propulsion system.
The New Mexico landing is the final step of the crucial test of Boeing and NASA that required the aerospace company to prove it could successfully fly the spacecraft to the space station and back safely before getting a crew onboard.
Boeing has been developing its Starliner capsule after winning nearly $5 billion in contracts under the Commercial Crew program. The aerospace company competes with Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Space X, that's currently on its fourth operational human spaceflight after developing its Crew Dragon spacecraft.
NASA and Boeing said the voyage was successful, from undocking at the ISS to firing its thrusters to deorbit and entering the atmosphere. The uncrewed capsule landed at 6:49 p.m. Eastern Time, as scheduled, under a trio of parachutes and airbags for cushioned landing.
Lauren Seabrook, a spokesperson at Boeing, said the touchdown was beautiful, and the capsule landed about three-tenths of a mile southeast of the designated landing site, a bull's eye.
Boeing's next Starliner mission is expected to be a CTF (Crew Flight Test), flying the first astronauts onboard the capsule. It's not clear, however, when the flight would happen.
Over the years, it had to deal with several obstacles. On the first flight attempt in 2019, the uncrewed capsule experienced a software anomaly, preventing it from docking at the ISS. Last year, the Starliner failed to get past the earth's skies during a second attempt due to an unexpected valve position in the propulsion system.
The New Mexico landing is the final step of the crucial test of Boeing and NASA that required the aerospace company to prove it could successfully fly the spacecraft to the space station and back safely before getting a crew onboard.
Boeing has been developing its Starliner capsule after winning nearly $5 billion in contracts under the Commercial Crew program. The aerospace company competes with Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Space X, that's currently on its fourth operational human spaceflight after developing its Crew Dragon spacecraft.
NASA and Boeing said the voyage was successful, from undocking at the ISS to firing its thrusters to deorbit and entering the atmosphere. The uncrewed capsule landed at 6:49 p.m. Eastern Time, as scheduled, under a trio of parachutes and airbags for cushioned landing.
Lauren Seabrook, a spokesperson at Boeing, said the touchdown was beautiful, and the capsule landed about three-tenths of a mile southeast of the designated landing site, a bull's eye.
Boeing's next Starliner mission is expected to be a CTF (Crew Flight Test), flying the first astronauts onboard the capsule. It's not clear, however, when the flight would happen.
Drone view of the #Starliner recovery team in action. pic.twitter.com/XHLY7He9O8
— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) May 25, 2022
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