Starliner test launch for Boeing and NASA through 2022

Boeing may have to temporarily rename the Starliner to Factoryliner. NASA announce The spacecraft won’t have a launch opportunity until around 2022 as the investigation into the issue that delayed the orbital-2 (OFT-2) test flight mission in August is still ongoing.

OFT-2 is an unmanned mission that would launch Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) using a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The mission was scheduled for August 3, but was delayed due to problems with the Starliner propulsion system, and the spacecraft was returned to commercial crew and cargo handling facilities.On August 13 to investigate the matter.

This investigation continues in the months following the last launch. “Boeing has identified the most likely cause in terms of the oxidation reaction and moisture, and while some verification work is still ongoing, our confidence is high enough that we are initiating corrective and preventive actions” to enable future launches, NASA said in a blog. Post.

It also said that “additional testing of the spacecraft and components will be carried out in the coming weeks to explore contributing factors and maintain the necessary systems prior to flight,” however, the Starliner will not be able to launch immediately even if the tests go well. . NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance and Eastern Group have yet to set a new launch window.

“The team is currently working on opportunities in the first half of 2022,” NASA said, “pending hardware readiness, rocket launch, and space station availability.” This means the OFT-2 delay from its initial launch date of August 3 could be between 5-10 months – and that’s assuming everything goes according to plan going forward.

This is not the first time. Starliner launched as part of the original orbital test flight in December 2019, but Space.com taper That “had a lot of disturbances, got stuck in the wrong orbit to meet the station, and landed after orbiting Earth alone for three days”, so the mission was unsuccessful. The follow-up mission was not a good start.

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