Boein / NASA - Starliner OFT-2 Mission patch.
August 8, 2021
NASA continues to work side-by-side with Boeing to understanding the CST-100 Starliner’s service module valve performance, including the unexpected indications some of the valves were in the closed position during its Aug. 3 launch attempt of Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2).
With troubleshooting ongoing in the United Launch Alliance Vertical Integration Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Starliner will be powered and run through various procedures to help understand the issue, NASA will move forward with the launch and berthing of an important cargo mission to the International Space Station.
Image above: On July 29, 2021, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is shown on top of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket in ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility. Image Credits: Boeing/NASA.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to launch on the company’s Antares rocket at 5:56 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, with capture and berthing scheduled two days later at about 6:10 a.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 12.
In parallel, managers and engineers with NASA and Boeing will continue to evaluate schedules based on where the troubleshooting efforts take them before deciding when the next official launch for the OFT-2 mission will take place.
Related links:
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner: http://www.boeing.com/space/starliner/launch/index.html
Commercial Crew: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html
Kennedy Space Center (KSC): https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/index.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Patricia Bielling.
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