Boeing / NASA - Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) patch.
May 21, 2022
Image above: Image above: Boeing’s Starliner crew ship is seen approaching International Space Station (ISS). Image Credits: NASA TV/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 8:28 p.m. EDT. Starliner launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on a flight test to the International Space Station at 6:54 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Starliner docking to the International Space Station
Starliner’s hatch opening is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:45 a.m. Saturday, May 21. Coverage of hatch opening will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Saturday, May 21
11:30 a.m. – NASA TV hatch opening coverage begins
11:45 a.m. – (approximately) Hatch opening and welcoming remarks
Starliner is scheduled to depart the space station Wednesday, May 25, when it will undock and return to Earth, with a desert landing in the western U.S. The spacecraft will return with more than 600 pounds of cargo, including Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System reusable tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members. The tanks will be refurbished on Earth and sent back to station on a future flight.
Image above: Boeing’s Starliner crew ship is seen moments after docking to the International Space Station’s forward port on the Harmony module. Image Credit: NASA TV/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Following certification, NASA missions aboard Starliner will carry up to four crew members to the station, enabling the continued expansion of the crew and increasing the amount of science and research that can be performed aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Image above: This is the first time that two spacecraft (Starliner & Dragon) from the Commercial Crews program have docked with the International Space Station (ISS). Image Credits: NASA TV/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
OFT-2 will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular flights with astronauts to and from the space station.
Related article:
Liftoff! Atlas V Clears the Launch Pad with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/05/liftoff-atlas-v-clears-launch-pad-with.html
Related links:
NASA TV: http://www.nasa.gov/live
Commercial Crew: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga/NASA TV/SciNews.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
