Despite numerous delays and technical hurdles, Boeing is preparing to launch the first crewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of its agreement with NASA.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Saturday, June 1 at 12:25 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The crew capsule will ride aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket and carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams to the space station. Home and Away.
NASA will broadcast the launch live website And the space agency’s YouTube website channelYou can also listen via the stream below. Launch coverage will begin at 8:15 a.m. ET. Boeing will also live stream the launch via its website website.
It’s been an exciting journey to get to this point, and honestly, it’s got us pretty excited for the next release. The Starliner was originally intended to launch on May 6, but there was a last-minute malfunction in one of the pressure valves on the Atlas V rocket. The manned test flight has been postponed until May 17. However, a few days before the launch, the Starliner teams A small helium leak was detected In the spacecraft’s service module, prompting them to postpone the launch until May 21 before it was postponed indefinitely.
Earlier this week, Boeing announced that it had decided to continue flying astronauts aboard the leaking Starliner spacecraft without resolving the issue. Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi said fixing the leak would require dismantling the Starliner spacecraft at its factory, AFP. mentionedInstead, Starliner teams will monitor the leak before launch on Saturday.
Boeing manned flight test It is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and is intended to transport crew and cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). $4.3 billion Contracting with the space agency. NASA’s other commercial partner, SpaceX, has launched its eighth crew to the space station.
Starliner’s first unmanned test flight in 2019 He was able to reach space, but a software automation failure caused the spacecraft to burn excess fuel, preventing it from reaching the International Space Station. The Starliner misjudged its position in space due to a malfunction caused by a faulty mission timer.
The failed first flight prompted NASA to order a second test flight of the empty spacecraft before the crew boarded. In May 2022, Boeing completed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2)This is the second unmanned test flight of the Starliner spacecraft, paving the way for a manned test flight. But OFT-2 suffered some setbacks, including The thruster used in orbital maneuvers failed..
Boeing’s crewed Starliner launch was initially scheduled for February 2023, then was postponed until the end of April and finally rescheduled for July 21, 2023. However, a few weeks before liftoff, the company announced that it was. Withdrawing from the launch attempt To address new issues on the crew vehicle, including a mile-long flammable tape that had to be manually removed.
Despite all these failures, NASA remains committed to the Starliner program and has two commercial partners flying astronauts into low Earth orbit. With the spacecraft leaking, Saturday’s launch is an important test of NASA’s relationship with its business environment.
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