Boeing Crewed Flight Test
Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) will be the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station, and the third orbital flight test of the Starliner overall after the two uncrewed flight tests, OFT-1 and OFT-2. Originally planned to occur during 2020, the launch date for the mission is currently unclear.[1][2] It will fly with a crew of two NASA astronauts and one Boeing astronaut, who will remain aboard the ISS for an extended test flight.[3][4]
Operator | |
---|---|
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Boeing Starliner |
Manufacturer | Boeing |
Crew | |
Crew size | 3 |
Members | Christopher J. Ferguson E. Michael Fincke Nicole V. Aunapu Mann |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | NET April 2021 |
Rocket | Atlas V N22 |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 51.66° |
Docking with ISS | |
Time docked | Two weeks to six months |
Commercial Crew Development |
Crew
Barry E. Wilmore will serve as backup for both Boe-CFT and for the first Starliner mission crews. Due to medical reasons, Eric Boe, who was originally assigned to the mission in August 2018 was replaced by Michael Fincke on 22 January 2019. Boe will replace Fincke as the assistant to the chief for commercial crew in the astronaut office at NASA's Johnson Space Center.[5] Nicole Mann will become the first woman to fly on the maiden crewed flight of an American spacecraft.
Position | Crew member | |
---|---|---|
Spacecraft Commander | Fourth spaceflight | |
TBD | Fourth spaceflight | |
TBD | First spaceflight |
Position | Crew | |
---|---|---|
Spacecraft Commander |
Mission
The third Atlas V N22 rocket variant will launch the Starliner with a crew of three to four. The vehicle will dock with the International Space Station, and return to Earth under parachutes for a ground-landing in the United States. Originally the mission was scheduled to fly a shorter mission of about two weeks, although it had been speculated for sometime that, due to delays to the Commercial Crew Program Boe-CFT would be extended to a full-fledged ISS crew rotation mission. In April 2019, NASA announced the mission had been fully extended to a crew rotation mission. This will be the first launch of a crewed spacecraft by an Atlas V rocket.
See also
- Commercial Crew Development
- SpaceX Dragon 2
- Crew Dragon Demo-2, SpaceX's first crewed mission of their capsule
References
- Gebhardt, Chris (February 28, 2020). "Boeing provides update, path forward for Starliner". Spaceflight.com. NASA.
- Clark, Stephen (April 6, 2020). "After problem-plagued test flight, Boeing will refly crew capsule without astronauts". Spaceflight Now.
- Herridge, Linda (April 3, 2019). "NASA and Boeing Extend Starliner Crew Flight Test Duration to Space Station, Target New Flight Dates". NASA.
- Gebhardt, Chris (June 20, 2019). "Station mission planning reveals new target Commercial Crew launch dates". Spaceflight.com. NASA.
- Granath, Bob (January 22, 2019). "NASA Announces Updated Crew Assignment for Boeing Flight Test". NASA. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
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