Tag: Starliner

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NASA ‘thrilled’ with Boeing Starliner pad abort test

Starliner pad abort test
Two parachutes ease the descent of the Boeing-built CST-100 Starliner space taxi during an uncrewed pad abort test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. (NASA via YouTube)

Boeing cleared a key milestone for launching NASA astronauts on its CST-100 Starliner space taxi today by executing an end-to-end test of its rocket-powered launch abort system — a test that did what it needed to do even though one of the craft’s three parachutes didn’t open.

Data from the pad abort test at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico will be fully analyzed in advance of an uncrewed Starliner mission to the International Space Station and back, currently scheduled for a Dec. 17 launch, Boeing and NASA said.

“Tests like this one are crucial to help us make sure the systems are as safe as possible,” Kathy Lueders, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in a news release. “We are thrilled with the preliminary results, and now we have the job of really digging into the data and analyzing whether everything worked as we expected.”

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NASA confirms plan for Boeing space taxi tests

Starliner test
Teams from NASA, Boeing and White Sands Missile Range rehearse procedures for landing and crew extraction from Boeing’s Starliner in September at the New Mexico missile range. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls)

NASA confirmed today that Boeing is scheduled to conduct the next high-profile test of its CST-100 Starliner space capsule in a little more than three weeks.

The target data for Starliner’s pad abort test is set for Nov. 4 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, NASA said. That’s in line with the plan that Boeing executive John Mulholland laid out earlier this week at a New Mexico space symposium.

If next month’s test is successful, Boeing would target Dec. 17 for the launch of an uncrewed Starliner to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

And if that test flight is successful in turn, Boeing is expected to send a crew of spacefliers on a demonstration flight to the space station in early 2020. That’s roughly the same timetable that SpaceX is working toward for the first crewed flight of its Crew Dragon space taxi.

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Boeing reports successful Starliner test

Starliner propulsion test
Starliner’s test service module ignites its launch abort engines and orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters in a low-altitude abort mode test. (Boeing Photo)

Boeing has successfully run the propulsion system for its CST-100 Starliner space taxi through the same test it failed almost a year ago, marking a significant step toward carrying astronauts to the International Space Station.

The thruster firing for Starliner’s launch abort system was part of a series of tests conducted on May 23 at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. A similar test went awry last June, due to an unwanted leak of propellant. No hardware was destroyed, but the problem contributed to delays for Starliner’s first flight.

The current schedule calls for the capsule to be launched on an uncrewed flight to the space station in the August time frame, and for the first crewed flight to take place by the end of the year. Starliner is designed to be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. (ULA is a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture.)

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Test schedule for Boeing’s space taxi delayed again

Starliner in test chamber
Technicians at the Boeing Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif., position a Starliner spaceship inside an acoustic test chamber. (Boeing Photo)

NASA today confirmed that the first uncrewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner space taxi to the International Space Station would be delayed until at least August, and also said the first crewed flight would be extended into a long-duration mission.

In a news release, NASA said August was a “working date” that would have to be confirmed later, based on further testing of the spacecraft.

NASA said the decision to shift the date was guided by limited launch opportunities during the previously planned April-May time frame, as well as planning requirements for the launch of the AEHF-5 military communications satellite for the Air Force in June.

Boeing’s first crewed test flight of the Starliner to the space station was reset for no earlier than late 2019.

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SpaceX and Boeing space taxi trips delayed … again

SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s Starliner capsule and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft. (NASA Graphic)

NASA says the flight test schedule for space taxis designed by SpaceX and Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station has been stretched out further, as expected.

And it wouldn’t be surprising if additional postponements occur in the coming weeks and months.

The schedule announced today calls for SpaceX to launch its Crew Dragon capsule from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on an uncrewed demonstration flight to the station on March 2.

Boeing, meanwhile, aims to send an uncrewed Starliner space capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the station no earlier than April.

Each of those time frames is roughly a month later than the schedule laid out last November, and each is subject to further change.

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Medical issue forces switch for Starliner space crew

Mike Fincke
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke tests the Orion spaceship exit procedure at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. (NASA via YouTube)

NASA says a medical issue is forcing a switch in the crew for the Boeing Starliner space taxi’s first crewed test flight to the International Space Station, currently scheduled for no earlier than August.

Astronaut Eric Boe will no longer be on the flight due to unspecified medical reasons, NASA announced today. Instead, three-time spaceflier Mike Fincke will take Boe’s place alongside NASA’s Nicole Mann and Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson.

Fincke will begin training for the Starliner flight immediately, while Boe will replace Fincke as assistant to the chief for commercial crew in the astronaut office at Johnson Space Center in Texas, NASA said.

Today’s personnel switch represents the first shift in a lineup for commercial crew flights that was announced last August.

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Boeing and SpaceX reset space taxi tests for 2019

Dragon and Starliner
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner are being developed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station for NASA. (SpaceX / Boeing Illustrations)

NASA says we’ll have to wait until 2019 to see the first orbital tests of the space taxis that are being built by SpaceX and Boeing for trips to the International Space Station.

The schedule shift was laid out Oct. 4 in an online update.

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NASA names 9 astronauts for first space taxi trips

Space taxi crews
The crews for the first four flights on SpaceX and Boeing space taxis wave to the cameras after their introduction at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. (NASA via YouTube)

NASA unveiled the first nine astronauts for its commercial crew missions to the International Space Station today, including rookies as well as seasoned veterans.

The “New Nine” include two women and seven men. All but one of them are current NASA astronauts. The ninth spaceflier is Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson, who flew three space shuttle missions (including the last one, as commander) and now works on Boeing’s Starliner program.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine introduced the astronauts during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Texas that was attended by members of Congress and other VIPs.

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NASA confirms new schedule for space taxis

Dragon capsules
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship docking with the International Space Station, plus a cargo-carrying version of the Dragon in the foreground. (SpaceX Illustration via NASA)

NASA today laid out a newly stretched-out schedule for flying astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil, with SpaceX’s first such flight set for no earlier than next April.

The space agency also confirmed Boeing’s plan to put off its first crewed space taxi mission until mid-2019, and geared up to announce who’d be on the first space taxi flights for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as well as Boeing’s Starliner.

Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson, who commanded NASA’s last space shuttle mission in 2011, appears to be a sure thing for the first Starliner crew, based on advance reports. Other crew members for the first flights are likely to include four astronauts selected back in 2015: Bob Behnken, Eric Boe, Doug Hurley and Sunita Williams.

NASA is due to live-stream the announcement from Johnson Space Center in Texas at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) Aug. 3, with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine presiding.

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Boeing resets crewed space taxi flight for 2019

Boeing Starliner
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which is designed to carry astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station. (Boeing Illustration)

Last month’s problem with leaky rocket engine valves has forced Boeing to rearrange the sequence of tests for its Starliner space taxi, with the first crewed flight to the International Space Station now planned for no earlier than mid-2019.

John Mulholland, a Boeing vice president who’s program manager for the CST-100 Starliner program, laid out the revised schedule today during a teleconference with journalists.

The current plan calls for an uncrewed Starliner capsule, known as Spacecraft 3, to be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to the International Space Station in late 2018 or early 2019.

Another capsule, Spacecraft 1, will be put through an uncrewed pad abort test during the first few months of 2019. Assuming that test is successful, Boeing would launch the Starliner’s first crew to the space station aboard yet another Starliner, Spacecraft 2, a month later.

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