The First Test Flight of the Boeing Starliner Spacecraft: Observational Results & Theoretical Background of the First Flight
It has been a rough time for Boeing, but now it is about to fly even closer to the sun than before. After nearly a decade of development and delays, the first crewed launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft is happening today. Here’s how to watch it live.
The latest test flight comes more than 10 years after NASA awarded a $4 billion contract to Boeing for the company to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
NASA has flown nine missions in the last decade and four private, crewed flights are on the way.
The capsule’s engines were not fired until after the Starliners failed to reach I.S.S. because of an onboard clock that was set incorrect. During its second test flight, the spaceship docked with the I.S.S., even though some of the thrusters failed.
Boeing then scrapped the planned launch of the Starliner’s first crewed flight last year, after company officials realized that adhesive tape used on the craft to wrap hundreds of yards of wiring was flammable, and lines connecting the capsule to its three parachutes appeared to be weaker than expected. The launch had to be delayed.
Test Flight of the Starliner Adaptive Prototype Launcher and the Challenges It Entails for a New Spacecraft
The test flight is ready to be performed, said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of the Commercial Crew Program. “I’ve never felt readier on any mission that I’ve ever participated in.”
Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams will fly aboard a Starliner and stay at the I.S.S for about a week before returning to Earth.
“I know I don’t think either one of us ever dreamed that we’d be associated with the first flight of a brand new spacecraft,” Wilmore said. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that.
Laura Forczyk is the executive director of the space consulting firm Astralytical and she said that the test flight is riskier because it will be the first time that Starliner will travel with people on board.
The gap between the last successful test flight and Monday’s planned launch of the Starliner makes me nervous, but it also shows NASA and Boeing are taking this very seriously, as it has been two years since this vehicle has flown.
Meanwhile, Boeing has been facing intense scrutiny this year on the commercial aviation side of its business after a rear door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff in January.
The Boeing Launch of the Space Telescope and Prototype for the Next Generation of Heavy-Ion Reactors (PPIR) Flights
Boeing and NASA are about to launch a rocket together on Monday, May 6. There are a number of ways you can watch the launch. It will be available on NASA’s official website, as well as its subscription service, NASA+. If you are on a cell phone, the stream is also available on the app. Here, you can also view it.
If this mission succeeds without a hitch, it will also likely be a welcome hit of good news for the troubled aviation company. Boeing has drawn a lot of unwanted attention in recent months, as technical problems on its flights have frightened travelers and made headlines. Two of Boeing’s Max planes crashed in the past few months. Boeing wants to claw back some of the goodwill that it has lost and write a new chapter that will focus on bringing more people into space.
