The next test flight of the Boeing Starliner team capsule was postponed until April 2 after workers replaced the aircraft’s aircraft units that had been damaged by high voltage during the test.
Boeing’s second orbital flight test, or OFT – 2 mission, will see if the Starliner spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts into orbit for the first time later this year.
In a statement on February 17, Boeing and NASA said the launch of the OFT-2 mission had been postponed from March 25 to April 2. The space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida suffered an eight-day delay due to a power outage during the final inspection.
Boeing says technicians have replaced avionics units affected by high voltage. “We continue to ensure the safety of our spacecraft products and resolve any emerging issues in a timely manner.”
NASA said the increase was due to a “problem configuring ground support equipment”.
Last month, the sales team and crew from the Kennedy Cargo Handling Facility anchored the crew module and the Starliner spacecraft service module. The entire spacecraft was recently moved to another part of the facility to receive the dangerous propulsion payload.
Starliner propellers use a toxic mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen tetroxide for space manipulation. Capsule locking motors use the same powerful combination.
Boeing has announced that it is ready to rehearse the work using Starliner aerial hardware and software. The final test will simulate docking and landing with an astronaut from the International Space Station, a rehearsal that Boeing did not do before Starliner’s first orbital test flight in 2019.
The OFT-2 mission is a rehearsal of Boeing’s OFT-1 test aircraft in December 2019. Software issues with the OFT-1 mission prevented the Starliner spacecraft from hitting the space station, forcing the White Parts to launch an early parachute into space. Harbor New Mexico. .
“NASA continues to work with Boeing to prepare for this first mission in 2021,” said Steve Stitch, director of NASA’s Business Group Project. “Boeing and NASA’s teamwork is exceptional in all aspects of aircraft production, including final certification, risk analysis and software testing.
About 95% of the recommendations identified by the Joint NASA-Boeing Evaluation Committee, which examined issues affecting the OFT-1 mission, were verified by engineers.
“We appreciate the extraordinary work that NASA has been doing since its inception,” said John Walmer, Starline Vice President and Project Director at Boeing. “We are fully engaged in the agency review process to ensure confidence in the spacecraft.”
Boeing said earlier this month Engineers have met the “request” of the Starliner software code, which will soon lead to a relaunch.
The Starliner spacecraft is one of two new crew caps designed to carry astronauts to the space station. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule flew with astronauts for the first time in May, but Boeing software bugs delayed the Starliner program for more than a year.
NASA has signed an agreement with Boeing and SpaceX to build new crews for the crew, ending the United States’ reliance on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for astronaut transport services.
Considering that the weekly OFT-2 test flight is going well, Boeing hopes to launch the first flight test of the Starliner with three people in early September. The three astronauts will go docking at the space station, where they are expected to spend one to two weeks returning to Earth.
After the flight crew test, NASA will certify the Starliner to perform team rotation missions operating to the space station. Boeing has a contract with NASA of at least six people, each carrying four astronauts for up to seven months.
Once the Starliner spacecraft is launched, the Boeing capsule will be transferred to the United Launch Alliance’s Vertical Coordination Center at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The cranes there will lift the spacecraft above the Atlas 5 missile next month, a few weeks before the April 2 launch.
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