NASA and Boeing prep for Starliner's Crew Flight Test

NASA and Boeing teams continue to make progress for the mid-April launch of the Crew Flight Test (CFT) of the Starliner spacecraft that will be carrying two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time.

The spacecraft will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly Starliner to the Space Station. The duo will remain docked at the orbiting laboratory for about 10 days to evaluate the new spacecraft and its systems before returning to Earth.

Earlier this month, the teams conducted a successful drop test to validate recent modifications to Starliner's parachute system. Now the mission teams are working to perform a final analysis of the test data and complete overall system certification ahead of the first crewed flight, NASA said on Wednesday.

In the next couple of months, NASA and Boeing teams will focus on completing the overall Crew Flight Test certification, running simulations of operational conditions to rehearse every phase of the mission, loading propellants for its onboard thrusters for in-space maneuvering, stacking the ULA Atlas V rocket and Starliner spacecraft before rolling them to the launch pad and culminate with a flight readiness review ahead of launch to verify that the system and teams are ready.

Boeing is targeting completion of Starliner assembly at the end of January.

The spacecraft has previously completed two uncrewed flight tests including Orbital Flight Test-2. CFT is the final flight test before regular crewed missions to the space station on the next-generation system.

NASA and Boeing teams are preparing for Starliner's Crew Flight Test to launch no earlier than mid-April, carrying two NASA astronauts to @Space_Station.Teams have made significant progress in resolving technical issues identified during the agency’s flight certification… pic.twitter.com/e7AQvBdqz7

— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) January 24, 2024