Boeing Starliner Test Planned for July 30

Boeing and NASA are targeting 2:53 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, July 30, for the launch of Starliner’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2, or OFT-2, mission to the International Space Station pending range approval. The updated launch target is supported by the space station visiting vehicle schedule and availability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Boeing will continue preparing the Crew Flight Test vehicle for flight until launch activities involving the OFT-2 vehicle, such as loading cargo and fueling the spacecraft, are scheduled to begin. Boeing recently completed end-to-end testing of Starliner’s flight software by flying a five-day simulated OFT-2 mission with operations teams and the highest-fidelity hardware. Boeing will continue supporting NASA’s post-test reviews and has submitted all OFT-2 verification and validation paperwork. All actions recommended by the Boeing/NASA Joint Independent Review Team as a result of Starliner’s first test flight are complete and pending closure.

The last test flight in 2019 had software problems. SpaceX has already certified the Dragon 2 for astronauts. SpaceX has flown two missions.

If Boeing has a successful unmanned test then its first manned mission will be in 2022.

SOURCES – Boeing
Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com

9 thoughts on “Boeing Starliner Test Planned for July 30”

  1. I want to be excited about this, really I do. However, given that its doppelganger, Apollo, was flying in the 1960's, it's somewhat disheartening to see how little progress has been made since then. Luckily, private enterprise is providing worthy alternatives.

  2. I hope Boeing has factored in the engineering to attach Starliner to the Starship instead of just the SLS. 😉

  3. I'm more hopeful of BO for competition in manned space missions than Boeing, and I'm more hopeful of RocketLabs than BO for that, as well. Heck, with any luck, SNC will develop the Dreamliner to be reuseable before Boeing has a solution for this.

  4. It is good. We don't need to be dependent on SpaceX as much as we don't need to be dependent on Russia. What we need is an open market for manned missions.

  5. So, Starliner will make it's second orbital test about the same time as Starship makes it's first.

  6. Boeing is also starting the big software development culture assessment/audit that NASA asked for now. Notably after the new OFT-2 work.

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