The Boeing Starliner OFT-2 mission is going to the space station.
NASA Launches 1st Synchronous Meteorological Satellite.
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The International Space Station is about to get a new spaceship.
The Atlas V rocket was used to launch Starliner. The duo rose off a pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:54 p.m. The Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) begins at 2 pm.
The Atlas V's upper stage was separated from Starliner just under 15 minutes after launch. Then, 16 minutes later, the capsule aced its burn.
The Boeing Starliner is on its way to the International Space Station.
Boeing Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2 mission is live.
It was a long time coming for OFT-2 to be an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station.
The OFT-2 was supposed to be launched last summer. It took about eight months to identify and mitigate the oxidizer valves problem that was revealed during routine preflight checks. The investigators found that the humidity in the air reacted with oxidizer to produce nitric acid, which then reacted with aluminum in the valves, generating corrosive products that interfered with valve function.
OFT-2 is a do-over attempt to make up for Starliners failure to reach the space station in December. The original OFT ended after Starliner got stranded in the wrong place for a rendezvous with the International Space Station.
The certification of Starliner has been delayed considerably compared to that of the Dragon capsule, which has already carried astronauts on four missions to the International Space Station for NASA. Boeing and SpaceX signed multimillion-dollar contracts with NASA.
NASA is relying on Starliner to add similar redundantness to its rotation of crews to the International Space Station. The successful launch of Starliner puts NASA and Boeing one step closer to achieving their goal.
On Friday evening, Starliner is going to rendezvous with the space station. Once within range, Starliner will use artificial intelligence to help guide and maneuver the spaceship during its approach.
Starliner is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station at 7 p.m. On Friday.
The hatch between Starliner and the International Space Station will be opened just before noon on Saturday, May 21. Most of the food sent up for the current inhabitants of the International Space Station will be unloaded by crew members.
Rosie the Rocketeer, the test mannequin, and a set of Boeing souvenirs will be handed out to Starliner program employees after the vehicle returns to Earth.
NASA officials have said that Starliner will likely stay on the space station for four to five days depending on the weather. Starliner will land in the western United States using a combination system of parachutes.
If everything goes well, the capsule will be certified for crewed flight. The astronauts could be on a test flight in the late 19th century.
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