Photo: Boeing
The Boeing Starliner is one of the biggest disappointments so far in the reignited space race. Born, just like the SpaceX Crew Dragon, as a means for American astronauts to go back to space using American-made vehicles, it failed to show its full human-carrying potential until now, leaving NASA with just one of two types of vehicles to turn to.
The first successful launch from two years ago turned into an unsuccessful docking with the International Space Station (ISS); it was then followed by a launch aborted on the pad because of a technical issue, and that was followed by a very long period of repairs; in May this year, Starliner flew for the second time, but even this flight was not flawless either, it made Boeing and NASA confident enough as to go for a crewed launch.
As per the latest info released this week, that should happen sometime in April 2023, when the mission, called Crew Flight Test (CFT) will send up into space astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore (commander) and Suni Williams (pilot). Mike Fincke is being trained as backup, and all three recently completed a Crew Validation Test (CVT) of the spacecraft
The team operating Starliner says April was chosen as a possible launch month because of ISS scheduling, but it also admits work is still to be done on the spacecraft.
“The refurbishment of a previously flown crew module and production of a new service module for CFT are continuing,” we’re told, but also that “in-flight anomalies from Starliner’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) are on a path to close in the coming weeks, following thorough data reviews, fault tree analyses, and agreed-to mitigation plans.”
“Additional learnings are expected as Starliner transitions from a fully autonomous flight without crew to flights with crew. With the help of experienced NASA test pilots, Wilmore and Williams, we are closer to our goal of flying a safe and capable spacecraft,” said in a statement Mark Nappi,program manager for the Starliner program.
As per the latest info released this week, that should happen sometime in April 2023, when the mission, called Crew Flight Test (CFT) will send up into space astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore (commander) and Suni Williams (pilot). Mike Fincke is being trained as backup, and all three recently completed a Crew Validation Test (CVT) of the spacecraft
The team operating Starliner says April was chosen as a possible launch month because of ISS scheduling, but it also admits work is still to be done on the spacecraft.
“The refurbishment of a previously flown crew module and production of a new service module for CFT are continuing,” we’re told, but also that “in-flight anomalies from Starliner’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) are on a path to close in the coming weeks, following thorough data reviews, fault tree analyses, and agreed-to mitigation plans.”
“Additional learnings are expected as Starliner transitions from a fully autonomous flight without crew to flights with crew. With the help of experienced NASA test pilots, Wilmore and Williams, we are closer to our goal of flying a safe and capable spacecraft,” said in a statement Mark Nappi,program manager for the Starliner program.
#Starliner's Crew Flight Test is now targeted to launch in April 2023 to meet @Space_Station scheduling needs.
— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) November 3, 2022
Progress continues with Butch Wilmore, @Astro_Suni & @AstroIronMike completing a Crew Validation Test with the Starliner team.
More: https://t.co/cqp0Sid8JL pic.twitter.com/wXjJnjfSbw
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