Starliner Launch has been Pushed to August 3
After an issue with the positioning of the International Space Station caused by a Russian spacecraft incident, the Starliner launch has been pushed to August 3 at 1:20 p.m. EDT.
Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About 30 minutes after launch, Starliner will perform its orbital insertion burn to begin its daylong trip to the space station. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock to the space station at 1:37 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4.
The spacecraft will carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies to the space station. It will return to Earth with more than 550 pounds of cargo, including the reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.
OFT-2 will demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket, from launch, to docking, to a return to Earth with a desert landing in the western United States. The uncrewed mission will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular flights to and from the space station.
Boeing said in a statement that with the International Space Station now in a good configuration and ready to welcome Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, the spacecraft is now in launch position on Space Launch Complex-41. The Starliner, which is mated to the top of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, rolled to the launch pad on train tracks at a speed of about 1 mph from the Vertical Integration Facility, located about 1 mile from the launch site.
The ISS was moved out of position last week when the new Russian Nauka module docked to the station and unexpectedly began firing its thrusters. The Russian government said the cause of the problem was a software issue, and NASA said that at no time was the crew of the station in danger. The Starliner launch was pushed back from its original July 31 date to allow NASA to be sure the station was back in position and ready for the flight.
(Source: NASA and Boeing news releases. Image provided by NASA)