NASA and Boeing say preparations continue for July Starliner test flight

NASA and Boeing said May 26 they are still working towards a July launch of the CST-100 Starliner on a crewed test flight despite “emerging issues” and concerns raised by a safety panel. In a statement issued just before the close of business ahead of a holiday weekend, the two organizations said they completed a “checkpoint review” May 25 of preparations for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, currently scheduled for no earlier than July 21. Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will fly on CFT to the International Space Station on the short test flight, the first crewed flight of the spacecraft. NASA and Boeing said they have now completed 95% of the certification work needed for CFT. They have also addressed all the anomalies from the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 mission, an uncrewed test flight of Starliner to the ISS one year ago. “We are taking a methodical approach to the first crewed flight of Starliner incorporating all of the lessons learned from the various in-depth testing campaigns,” Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, said in a statement. “In addition to the closeout of ongoing work, the team remains vigilant on tracking new technical issues as we complete certification for crewed flight.” That statement mentioned “emerging issues that need a path to closure” before NASA and Boeing decide to fuel the spacecraft in June for a July launch. Boeing officials said earlier this year they decided to fuel the spacecraft only within 60 days of launch as a measure to mitigate any fuel leaks that could corrode valves, an issue that delayed an August 2021 launch attempt for OFT-2.

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner being prepared for a crew flight test scheduled for no earlier than July 21. Credit: Boeing/John Grant

Among the issues is swapping out a valve in the thermal control system in the spacecraft’s service module, which was reducing flow in one of two redundant loops that cool the vehicle’s avionics. The valve replacement will take about a week, NASA and Boeing said, and should not affect the CFT launch schedule.

Engineers are also evaluating whether tape used on wiring could pose a flammability risk. Although that tape is commonly used on other spacecraft, they are evaluating if it is acceptable for crewed flight. The organizations said that assessment should be done before the decision to fuel the spacecraft.

Another system being reviewed is Starliner’s parachutes. NASA and Boeing said they are reassessing margins in the parachutes, including the “overall efficiency” of joints in that system, to ensure they achieve the required safety factors for a crewed spacecraft.

The statement came a day after a public meeting of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) where the committee’s chair, Patricia Sanders, raised concerns about the ability to complete work, such as parachute certification, in time to meet the planned July 21 launch.

“It is imperative that NASA not succumb to pressure, even unconsciously, to get CFT launched without adequately addressing all the remaining impediments to certification,” she said, recommending that NASA bring in an independent group, such as the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, “to take a deep look at the items on the path to closure.”

The NASA/Boeing statement did not mention the ASAP meeting. However, it did address one issue Sanders raised about the spacecraft’s batteries. The organizations said they had approved the batteries for use on CFT “based on additional testing and analysis” with a proposal to upgrade the batteries on future missions.

Stich, in the statement, said the agency and company had made progress since late March, when they announced the certification work would push the CFT launch from April to July.

“If you look back two months ago at the work we had ahead of us, it’s almost all complete,” he said. “The combined team is resilient and resolute in their goal of flying crew on Starliner as soon as it is safe to do so.”

However, he did not rule out a slip from the current July launch date. “If a schedule adjustment needs to be made in the future, then we will certainly do that as we have done before. We will only fly when we are ready.”

Boeing's Starliner makes progress ahead of flight test with astronauts

NASA and Boeing continue to make progress toward the company's second uncrewed flight test of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft prior to flying astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The Commercial Crew Program currently is targeting no earlier than December 2020 for launch of the uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) pending hardware readiness, flight software qualification, and launch vehicle and space station manifest priorities. Over the summer, Boeing's Starliner team focused on readying the next spacecraft for its upcoming flight tests as well as making improvements identified during various review processes throughout the beginning of the year. NASA also announced an additional crew assignment for its first operational mission, NASA's Boeing Starliner-1, with astronauts to the space station. Here's more on the recent progress: Teams from Boeing are well into final assembly of the crew and service modules that will fly OFT-2 to the space station inside of the company's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. OFT-2 will fly a new, reusable Starliner crew module providing additional on-orbit experience for the operational teams prior to flying missions with astronauts. For Boeing's Commercial Crew missions, the Starliner spacecraft will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

With the majority of assembly complete, recent progress is focused on the NASA docking system re-entry cover, which was added to the design for additional protection of the system. The team also has completed the installation of the Starliner propellant heater, thermal protection system tiles and the air bags that will be used when the spacecraft touches down for landing. As final production activities continue to progress, the crew module recently entered acceptance testing, which will prove out the systems on the spacecraft before it's mated with its service module.

In Houston, the software team is nearing the final stages of modifying and re-verifying the flight code after the first uncrewed flight test. As part of that effort, the team recently began a major milestone called Formal Qualification Testing, which is a comprehensive test of flight software and an important step in preparing for an end-to-end mission rehearsal test.

Boeing also remains focused on incorporating the recommendations from the joint NASA-Boeing Independent Review Team with almost 75% of the 80 proposed actions implemented. The independent team was formed to review anomalies experienced during OFT, which led to Starliner not reaching its planned orbit or docking to station as planned, and to provide recommendations to ensure a robust design for future missions. In addition to opting to re-fly its uncrewed flight test, Boeing elected to comprehensively implement all of the recommendations provided by the review team.

Following a successful OFT-2, Boeing will focus full attention on preparations for its final flight test with astronauts and is already completing work on the Crew Flight Test spacecraft in parallel. Teams continue refurbishing the crew module flown on Starliner's first uncrewed flight test for reuse with astronauts. After removing and conducting checkouts on various systems and flight hardware, Boeing is preparing to reassemble the vehicle for flight. Soon, outfitting of the crew module's interior will begin along with packing parachutes and airbags ahead of installation. The vehicle's NASA Docking System has been modified to accommodate the new cover, and outfitting of subsystem components continues on the spacecraft's brand new service module.

Crew Updates and Target Flight Schedules
In advance of the OFT-2 mission, flight control teams from NASA and Boeing completed an integrated launch-to-docking simulation in August with additional mission simulations on the horizon as the teams fine-tune flight rules and procedures.

After a successful OFT-2, Boeing and NASA will fly Starliner's first crewed mission, the Crew Flight Test, currently targeted for no earlier than June 2021, with the first post-certification mission, called Starliner-1, tentatively scheduled for no earlier than late December 2021.

The CFT crew members are Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson and NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Nicole Mann.

In addition to training for living and working on station, astronauts continue to work closely with Starliner test teams. Several crew members plan to participate in ongoing acceptance testing of the OFT-2 crew module inside the C3PF.

Recently, the CFT crew helped test software updates with real flight hardware in Boeing's Avionics and Software Integration Lab in Houston. They practiced performing manual separation events for several low likelihood contingencies, demonstrating the software improvements had no adverse effect on controls needed to stay safe in any situation. The crew also participated in procedural dry runs for future life support tests with the Starliner spacecraft in Florida. Later this year, the CFT crew will be suited inside the spacecraft with the vehicle providing all of their life support.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Josh Cassada and Jeanette Epps are crew members of the Starliner-1 mission. Cassada and Williams were both selected for the mission in August 2018, and NASA announced Epps' assignment Aug. 25.

Astronauts for both CFT and Starliner-1 missions regularly participate in rehearsals of launch and mission operations in both normal and emergency scenarios. They also are continuing with on-going mission-specific training for life in orbit including the work they'll perform after joining their respective Expedition crews awaiting them on station.

The goal of NASA's Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station. This could allow for additional research time and increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity's testbed for exploration, including helping us prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Boeing to fly second uncrewed Starliner orbital flight test for NASA

Boeing has decided to fly a second uncrewed flight test as a part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Although no new launch date has been set, NASA has accepted the proposal to fly the mission again and will work side-by-side with Boeing to resume flight tests to the International Space Station on the company's CST-100 Starliner system. The agency's Commercial Crew Program is a unique approach to human spaceflight in which NASA provides a set of mission and safety requirements and private companies, like Boeing and SpaceX, propose their own unique strategies to prove the systems meet the intent of the requirements. Consistent with that approach, Boeing had the responsibility to bring NASA its proposal on how to proceed with the flights. An uncrewed flight test originally was proposed by Boeing to demonstrate the Starliner system could perform as designed to fly to the space station prior to having a crew onboard. With that proposal, the uncrewed flight became a part of the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract in 2014 between NASA and Boeing. Although many of the objectives of Boeing's first uncrewed flight test in December 2019 were accomplished, Boeing decided the best approach to meeting the agency's requirements would be to fly the mission again, including docking with the space station. Data from the next and previous flight test will be used as part of NASA's process of certifying Boeing's crew transportation system for carrying astronauts to and from the space station.

If Boeing would have proposed a crewed mission as the next flight, NASA would have completed a detailed review and analysis of the proposal to determine the feasibility of the plan. However, as this was not the recommendation made by Boeing, NASA will not speculate on what the agency would have required.

The second uncrewed flight does not relieve Boeing from completing all the actions determined from the joint NASA/Boeing independent review team, which was commissioned following the flawed initial flight. NASA still intends to conduct the needed oversight to make sure those corrective actions are taken.

NASA and Boeing are in the early stages of the decision to fly a second uncrewed orbital mission to the station, and a timeline for flying crew has not been determined.

Although completing a second uncrewed flight test was not in the timeline for returning U.S. human spaceflight on Starliner, NASA fully supports our Boeing partner's commitment to flying astronauts as safely as possible.

This is exactly why NASA decided to select two partners in the commercial crew effort. Having dissimilar redundancy is key in NASA's approach to maintaining a crew and cargo aboard the space station and to keeping our commitments to international partners. It also allows our private industry partners to focus on crew safety rather than schedule. The safety of our commercial crew team always will remain as our top priority.

Boeing Starliner Crew spacecraft heads to pre-launch processing

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is transported from NASA's Kennedy Space Center to a facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Later in the day it was placed atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket ahead of Boeing's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station. Boeing's uncrewed flight test, which is targeted for Dec. 17, will provide valuable data on the end-to-end performance of the rocket, spacecraft and ground systems, as well as, in-orbit and landing operations. The data will be used toward certification of Boeing's crew transportation system for carrying astronauts to and from the space station. NASA's Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry through public-private partnerships to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil for the first time since 2011. The goal of the program is safe, reliable and cost-effective human space transportation to and from the International Space Station. This could allow for additional research time aboard the station and increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity's testbed for exploration, which includes sending astronauts to the Moon and Mars.