Boeing is preparing to launch Starliner capsule The satellite is on the unmanned Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station (ISS), and after reviewing preparations for the flight, NASA and Boeing are targeting an immediate launch window on May 19 at 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 GMT) To launch a Starliner atop a United Alliance Atlas V rocket.
And according to the “space” website, this will be Starliner’s second attempt to rendezvous with and dock with the International Space Station, and a decisive step in adopting NASA agency Boeing spacecraft for human passengers.
Starliner’s first OFT mission in December 2019 did not actually live up to expectations, failing to achieve the orbit needed to reach the International Space Station due to a software glitch.
Boeing was primed for its missions in early August 2021, but initial checks hours before takeoff revealed problems with more than half of the oxidizer valves in the Starliner’s propulsion system, the launch was cancelled, and the capsule was unstacked from the Atlas V and returned to Boeing for repair.
NASA is counting on the success of OFT-2 in order to start sending astronauts to the space station in greater numbers, for nearly a decade NASA has relied on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport its astronauts to and from the orbiting laboratory until this was recently eased by the SpaceX Crew Dragon crew. , which launched its fourth manned operational mission to the International Space Station last month.
NASA says the Starliner will spend five to 10 days docking with the International Space Station on OFT-2 before returning to Earth to land in the western United States. If successful, NASA and Boeing hope to launch the capsule with its first crew before the end of 2022.