On July 29, 2021, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
NASA and Boeing have elected to stand down from Friday’s launch attempt of the agency’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) mission. Currently, the earliest available launch opportunity is 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3. The International Space Station team will use the time to continue working checkouts of the newly arrived Roscosmos Nauka multipurpose laboratory module (MLM) and to ensure the station will be ready for Starliner’s arrival.
Launch preparations will resume following a final decision from the International Space Station and Commercial Crew Program teams for the next opportunity to send Starliner on its way to complete the OFT-2 mission, which will set the stage for the first Crew Flight Test.
Earlier Thursday, Starliner atop its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket was moved to its seaside launch pad for standard launch preparations. Teams are assessing moving the vehicle back to its Vehicle Integration Facility to protect it from weather until launch preparations resume. Starliner and Atlas V are in a safe, flight-ready configuration and do not require any near-term servicing.
The Atlas V was assembled throughout July, which included the transfer of Starliner from Boeing’s spacecraft processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 41 for mating atop the rocket.
NASA and Boeing have decided to stand down from Friday’s launch attempt of the agency’s Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. Currently, launch teams are assessing the next available opportunity. The move allows the International Space Station team time to continue working checkouts of the newly arrived Roscosmos’ Nauka module and to ensure the station will be ready for Starliner’s arrival.
On July 29, 2021, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Starliner will launch on the Atlas V for Boeing’s second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 is an important uncrewed mission designed to test the end-to-end capabilities of the new system for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
This morning, July 29, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket rolled out of the ULA Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida ahead of NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:53 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 30.
Current weather shows a 50 percent chance of favorable conditions. Cumulous clouds, surface electricity, and lightning remain the primary concerns for the instantaneous launch window.
OFT-2, Boeing’s second uncrewed flight, is designed to test the end-to-end capabilities of the new system for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA will host two briefings on Thursday, July 29, in advance of the mission. Participants include NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, agency leaders, as well as the crew of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test, the mission that will follow the OFT-2 mission. NASA TV launch coverage begins at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 30, and will provide continuous coverage through Starliner orbital insertion.
Expedition 65 prime crew member Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos holds up a toy cat used in the Soyuz capsule to help indicate the start of weightlessness after leaving the Earth’s atmosphere. Stuffed animals are a traditional category for zero-gravity indicators. Photo credit: NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin
We asked our virtual guests what they would take with them as a zero-gravity indicator if they were launching on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on July 30 for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. More than 2,600 of you responded. Two large categories of items emerged: stuffed animals and balls.
Nearly 10% of people suggested something stuffed. This is a traditional category for zero-gravity indicators. Some guests suggested very specific stuffed animals – Snoopy, Baby Yoda, Fiona the hippo from the Cincinnati Zoo, or a something that had been in their family for multiple generations.
We don’t know where they’re shopping, but a few guests suggested stuffed people, Tory Bruno of United Launch Alliance, Jeff Goldblum, and Patrick Star from Sponge Bob fame to be exact. One guest had the lovely idea that “stuffed animals of some sort that would then be donated to sick children.”
Another 10% of respondents suggested some type of ball – or every type of ball. There were tennis balls, baseballs, bouncy balls, disco balls, cannon balls, and balls of yarn. There was the very specific Euro 2020 official football. Finally, there was a handful of very wise respondents packing stress balls.
Water was another frequent suggestion – sometimes with a goldfish in it for good measure, sometimes with an eye toward drinking it if need be! Balloons, books, and M&M’s also were mentioned in multiples. The few suggestions of glitter would no doubt be to the consternation of Starliner engineers! One guest hurt our heads by suggesting “a toy Starliner with a smaller Starliner inside the toy, and to check for zero gravity we look inside the toy to see if the smaller Starliner is floating.”
Our favorite suggestion? A clear cube containing everyone’s name on a card who registered for the event. We’d have trouble fitting the more than 13,000 of you there! But we love the thought.
We’d love to have you along for the next virtual guest program – you can join our standing list or register for specific upcoming missions by visiting nasa.gov/virtualguest. In addition to sharing their thoughts on a launch-related question, virtual guests receive emails with curated launch resources, notifications about NASA activities, and updates on any launch time or date changes.
Whether it’s your first stamp or your eighth, NASA hopes you’ll print, fold, and get ready to fill your virtual passport. Stamps will be emailed following docking to all virtual attendees who registered by email.
Liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Starliner is targeted for 2:53 p.m. EDT Friday, July 30, from Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
