Photo: Boeing
Perched on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, the Boeing Starliner space capsule now has an official launch date for its uncrewed test flight: December 17, 2019. The launch date now seems set in stone, following a number of delays throughout the year.
The Starliner is one of the two new, privately-built space capsules NASA will use in the not so distant future to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), alongside the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Their use will mark the return of crewed space launches to American soil after decades of missions taking off from abroad.
This first flight will be uncrewed, just as was the one performed by the Crew Dragon earlier this year. It too will fly all the way to the ISS, dock, and then attempt a safe return to Earth.
The American space agency is looking to gather a wealth of data about both the space capsule's and the ground system's performances.
„The flight test will provide valuable data on the end-to-end performance of the Atlas V rocket, Starliner spacecraft, and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, and landing operation,” NASA said in a statement.
„The data will be used as part of NASA’s process of certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for carrying astronauts to and from the space station."
Similar in size to the Orion, a spaceship now being developed under NASA's guidance, the Starliner has a a diameter of 4.56 meters (15.0 ft) and will be able to carry up to seven astronauts. It has been designed to accept mating with a variety of rockets, including SpaceX’s Falcon, the Atlas V, Delta IV and the Vulcan.
The Starliner is the first capsule capable of landing on solid soil rather than on the water thanks to the use of an innovative airbag system.
This first flight will be uncrewed, just as was the one performed by the Crew Dragon earlier this year. It too will fly all the way to the ISS, dock, and then attempt a safe return to Earth.
The American space agency is looking to gather a wealth of data about both the space capsule's and the ground system's performances.
„The flight test will provide valuable data on the end-to-end performance of the Atlas V rocket, Starliner spacecraft, and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, and landing operation,” NASA said in a statement.
„The data will be used as part of NASA’s process of certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for carrying astronauts to and from the space station."
Similar in size to the Orion, a spaceship now being developed under NASA's guidance, the Starliner has a a diameter of 4.56 meters (15.0 ft) and will be able to carry up to seven astronauts. It has been designed to accept mating with a variety of rockets, including SpaceX’s Falcon, the Atlas V, Delta IV and the Vulcan.
The Starliner is the first capsule capable of landing on solid soil rather than on the water thanks to the use of an innovative airbag system.
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