The First Test Flight of the Boeing Starliners During the First Year of Spaceflight Service Work with the International Space Station (Extended Abstract)
Boeing has had a tough few years, but the company is getting closer to the sun than ever before. The first crewed launch of the Boeing Starliners is occurring today after a decade of development and delays. Here’s how to watch it live.
The latest test flight comes roughly a decade after NASA awarded Boeing a more than $4 billion contract as part of the agency’s effort to pay private companies to help ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, following the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
Space X was awarded a contract through the NASA initiative and has flown nine missions for the agency.
The Starliner failed to reach the I.S.S. during its first mission in 2019 after its onboard clock, which was set incorrectly, caused a computer to fire the capsule’s engines too early. The spacecraft successfully docked with the I.S.S. during its second test flight in 2022, despite the failure of some thrusters during the launch.
The Starliner’s first crew flight was scrapped last year after officials realized the glue used to wrap the wiring was not safe and the capsule’s lines to its three parachutes were weaker than expected. The launch was delayed indefinitely.
The Starliner Test Flight: Preparing for the Launch of the Spacecraft’s First Flight, and How to Embark in the Spaceport
Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and program manager of the Commercial Crew Program, said at a Friday press conference that they are ready to go to a state where they can perform the test flight. “I’ve never felt readier on any mission that I’ve ever participated in.”
Barry “Butch” Wilmore andSuni Williams are going to spend a few days in the spaceport after flying aboard the Starliner.
Wilmore said that he and the other person didn’t imagine they would be associated with the first flight of a brand new spacecraft. “If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t be here.”
The test flight of the Starliners will be the first time people travel on board, which is “more important” for the test flight due to the “stakes are higher”.
The two-year gap between Starliner’s last successful test flight and Monday’s launch gives me confidence but also makes me nervous because it has been two years since this vehicle was last used.
Boeing’s commercial aviation business has been in the eye of a storm this year after a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight.
The Joint Launch of the Boeing-NASA System on Monday, May 6, at 10:34 pm EDT, 7:34 PM PDT
The launch is a jointly planned event between Boeing and NASA, and is scheduled for Monday, May 6, at 10:34 pm EDT, 7:34 PDT. You can see the launch in a few different ways. NASA will be showing it on its official website, as well as on its subscription service NASA+. The NASA app also has the stream on it. You can watch it here as well.
This mission will be a good news story for the troubled aviation company if it succeeds. Boeing has drawn a lot of unwanted attention in recent months as an array of technical malfunctions on its commercial airline flights have terrified travelers and made headlines. These events come not long after two of Boeing’s 737 Max planes crashed in 2018 and 2019. Boeing is hoping to get back into the good graces of the public with a new chapter centering on bringing more people into space.
