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Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule, which has had cost overruns of about $1.5 billion, is about to make its maiden flight with humans on board. Boeing was selected a decade ago to work with SpaceX to develop a spacecraft that could transport astronauts from U.S. soil to the International Space Station (ISS), allowing NASA to end its reliance on Russia for human flights. did it. The companies have signed firm-fixed-price contracts under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program for $4.2 billion for Boeing’s CST-100 (Starliner) and $2.6 billion for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
The original deadline was 2017, but it turned out to be a bit too ambitious. SpaceX and about a dozen other companies are struggling to get Boeing to launch its Starliner capsule to the ground. However, manned flight will finally become a reality as early as May 6th.
Starliner is currently at Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, attached to the ULA Atlas V rocket bound for the ISS. The launch is scheduled for Monday, May 6th at 10:34pm ET. The capsule will carry two NASA astronauts. Butch Wilmore is the mission commander, and Suni Williams is the pilot.
Not only is this the first crewed flight for Starliner, but this test is only the third in its history. The spacecraft (without anyone on board) successfully demonstrated its ability to reach, dock, and undock the ISS during its second orbital flight test in spring 2022. In a previous attempt in 2019, Starliner failed to reach the ISS after a software issue caused it to burn too much fuel (one of the few issues Boeing overlooked at the time after being selected).
Boeing has suffered a number of other problems in the years since breaking its contract with NASA, leaving the company far behind SpaceX. There was a toxic fuel leak during testing in 2018. Corrosion later caused valves in the propulsion system to seize, derailing Boeing’s 2021 launch plans. It was reported earlier this year. Last summer, a problem with the spacecraft’s parachute deployment system required the team to remove about a mile of flammable tape.
During this time, Boeing has also had considerable problems other than Starliner, and is facing increased scrutiny. The 737 Max line in particular had two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, as well as a few less serious crashes. Most recently, in January, a 737 Max 9 had a panel blown off during a flight, forcing it to make an emergency landing.
The May 6 flight is a major step toward NASA’s certification of Starliner as a crew transportation system that could actually be incorporated into the rotation of trips to the ISS. That would give the space agency the redundancy it was looking for. With both Crew Dragon and Starliner in service, there’s always a backup option in case something happens to one or the other. Both NASA and Boeing are adamant that the capsule has gone through a thorough review process and is ready to assist astronauts. On April 25, NASA concluded its Starliner crew flight test readiness review.
“The first crewed flight of a new spacecraft is a critical milestone,” NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Free said at a press conference announcing the completion of the review. “The lives of our crew members Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are at risk, and we don’t take that lightly,” said NASA Chief Flight Director Emily Nelson. It said the review was “the culmination of a detailed review season that thoroughly established that we were truly ready to embark on this flight.”
After takeoff, Starliner is expected to take approximately 24 hours to reach the ISS, and since this is a test flight, the crew will have a lengthy task of system and equipment checks to complete at every stage of the journey. You will have a list. Although Starliner is capable of autonomous operation, the crew will test the manual controls to ensure they are suitable for a manual abort scenario. After Starliner docks at the space station, the astronauts will spend about a week there with their current crew, Expedition 71.
Afterwards, it will undock from the orbiting laboratory and return home, where it will undergo re-entry and landing tests. Several potential landing sites in the southwestern United States have been mentioned, including White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Wilmore and Williams have been training for years for Starliner’s first flight. “They know the vehicle inside and out and were part of the test environment that developed Starliner’s capabilities,” said Steve Stitch, NASA’s commercial crew program manager. Everyone who attended last Thursday’s briefing acknowledged that unexpected challenges may be encountered and that there is much to learn from this first manned flight. “This is a reminder for all of us that teams have been practicing, running simulations, and running models, but there’s nothing quite like flying in a space environment,” Free said. .
NASA and Boeing officials also expressed confidence that the spacecraft itself and the team in charge of its journey are well prepared for the job.of He echoed these sentiments when he arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “If we weren’t ready, we wouldn’t be here,” Wilmore said in response to questions from reporters. “We’re ready, our spacecraft is ready, our team is ready.”
If for some reason Starliner cannot launch on the 6th, there will be backup opportunities on May 7th, 10th, and 11th. After crew flight tests are completed and the astronauts return home, NASA will begin certification of the spacecraft. Future missions will transport crews to and from the ISS. Currently, Starliner is targeted to enter service in 2025.
“We don’t want to go too far because we need the mission to be successful,” Free said ahead of Starliner’s launch. A means of transportation that provides critical redundancy for access to the ISS. ”