Starliner fixed, Boeing to conduct second orbital launch on May 19

Months after it was removed from the launchpad, Boeing is set to roll out its Starliner spacecraft to be launched into space on May 19. The spacecraft will be launched to the International Space Station as part of its second Orbital Flight Test (OFT) as Nasa looks for an alternative to SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.

 

The Boeing Starliner will be launched on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This will be an uncrewed flight as Boeing looks to conduct a crewed flight by the end of this year.

 

So far, Elon Musk-led SpaceX has emerged as the biggest contractor for Nasa transporting cargo and astronauts to space. The company recently launched four astronauts on a six-month-long mission to space as it plans to return four others in May.

 

"The uncrewed mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket from launch to docking and return to Earth at one of five designated landing zones in the western United States," Boeing said in a statement.

 

 

 

Nasa said that following the successful completion of the OFT-2 mission, teams will determine a launch window for Crew Flight Test (CFT), Starliner’s first flight with astronauts aboard. Boeing has been working with astronaut Chris Ferguson Nicole Mann, Mike Fincke, Sunita Williams, Josh Cassada, Dr. Jeanette Epps, and Barry Wilmore.

 

Boeing is yet to announce, which astronauts among these will ride the maiden crewed test flight on the Starliner.

 

The second orbital test was initially targeted in August last year when engineers noticed glitches in the system scrubbing the mission. The aerospace company is working with Nasa engineers to determine the cause of the valve failure.

 

During the test flight, Starliner will head to the Space Station, where it will dock after a 24-hour-long journey. Engineers will test the vision-based navigation system to autonomously dock with the space station during the flight. The capsule will spend over a week at the station before returning to Earth.

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