After a successful launch at 6:36 a.m. EST Friday on the ULA Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is an unplanned, but stable orbit. The team is assessing what test objectives can be achieved before a safe return of the spacecraft to land in White Sands, New Mexico. NASA and Boeing officials held a post-launch news conference Friday morning.
Good morning from the NASA News Center at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It’s launch day for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with Starliner atop, are poised on the launch pad at nearby Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Starliner will make its inaugural flight to the International Space Station, called Orbital Flight Test, as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:36 a.m. EST during an instantaneous launch window.
Fueling of the Atlas V rocket began at about 12:30 a.m. today. The first stage booster’s RD-180 engine, containing two thrust chambers, was fueled with Rocket Propellant-1 (RP-1), or highly purified kerosene. The Centaur second stage was fueled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Fueling of the rocket was completed about two hours later.
Stay tuned for coverage of the countdown events and launch. Watch the coverage live on NASA TV. More details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can be found in the online press kit and by following the @commercial_crew on Twitter and commercial crew on Facebook.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict an 80% chance of favorable weather for launch early this morning. Primary concerns for launch day are the Cumulus Cloud Rule and User Ground Winds violations during the instantaneous launch window.
Liftoff of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, is targeted for 6:36 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 20 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This uncrewed mission, known as Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test, is Starliner’s maiden flight to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The main objective of the mission is an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s ability to launch astronauts to the orbiting laboratory and return them home. To learn more, read the prelaunch feature.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict an 80% chance of favorable weather for launch on Friday morning. Primary concerns for launch day are the Cumulus Cloud Rule and User Ground Winds violations during the instantaneous launch window.
Join us at 5:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 20, for countdown coverage on the Commercial Crew blog and NASA TV.
NASA will host an Administrator Post-launch News Conference at 9 a.m. followed by a Launch Team News Conference at 9:30 a.m., both on NASA TV.
Mission Timeline (all times approximate)
Hour/Min/Sec Events
-06:00:00 Atlas V fueling commences
-04:05:00 Atlas V fueling is complete
-04:04:00 T-4 minute built-in hold begins
-01:25:00 Hatch closure complete
-01:15:00 Prelaunch cabin leak checks
-01:05:00 Cabin pressurization complete
-00:20:00 Launch Conductor conducts terminal count briefing
-00:18:00 CST-100 poll for terminal count
-00:15:00 CST-100 to internal power
-00:10:00 Crew Access Arm retracted
-00:08:00 Launch vehicle poll for terminal count
-00:04:45 Starliner configured for terminal count
-00:04:00 T-4 minute built-in hold releases
-00:01:00 CST-100 is configured for launch
-00:00:03 RD-180 engine ignition
Launch, Landing and CST-100 Deployment (all times approximate)
Hour/Min/Sec Events
+00:00:01 Liftoff
+00:00:06 Begin pitch/yaw maneuver
+00:00:41 Maximum dynamic pressure
+00:01:05 Mach 1
+00:02:22 SRB jettison
+00:04:29 Atlas booster engine cutoff (BECO)
+00:04:35 Atlas Centaur separation
+00:04:41 Ascent cover jettison
+00:04:45 Centaur first main engine start (MES-1)
+00:05:05 Aeroskirt jettison
+00:11:54 Centaur first main engine cutoff (MECO-1)
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 earlier today. Starliner now stands poised at the launch pad awaiting its maiden flight on Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:36 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 20. The flight test will provide valuable data on the end-to-end performance of the Atlas V rocket, Starliner spacecraft, and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, and landing operations. The data 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.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict an 80% chance of favorable weather for launch on Friday morning. Primary concerns for launch day are the Cumulus Cloud Rule and User Ground Winds violations during the instantaneous launch window.
Teams from NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance are “go” for a launch following today’s launch readiness review ahead of the Orbital Flight Test mission to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Launch is scheduled for 6:36 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 20, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing continue to predict an 80% chance of favorable weather with the primary concerns for launch day are the Cumulus Cloud Rule and User Ground Winds violations during the instantaneous launch window.
At 2 p.m., NASA will host a prelaunch news briefing at Kennedy Space Center. Participants are:
NASA will hold a prelaunch briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 17, no earlier than 2 p.m. EST, following the completion of the Launch Readiness Review for Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Briefing participants are:
Watch the briefing live on NASA TV. More details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can be found in the online press kit and by following the @commercial_crew on Twitter and commercial crew on Facebook.
View all of the prelaunch briefings and events at https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-boeing-oft-briefings-events-and-broadcasts.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predict an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for launch on Friday morning, with the possibility of cumulus clouds posing the main concern.
When Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test (OFT) launches on Dec. 20, 2019, it will be a major step toward returning human spaceflight capability to the U.S.
The uncrewed mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program will rendezvous and dock Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft with the International Space Station and return to Earth on Dec. 28. Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
“This test flight will give us valuable data about Starliner’s performance in the actual environment through each phase of flight and demonstrate its capability to transport crew to the space station and bring them home safely,” said Trip Healey, NASA’s mission manager for OFT. “Being on the cusp of this huge moment in history is really exciting.”
Data from the mission will validate spacecraft system performance and will move Starliner farther down the path toward its first flight with astronauts aboard — Boeing’s Crew Flight Test (CFT).
NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Nicole Mann and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson will be onboard Starliner for CFT. All three were on hand when the spacecraft for this flight test rolled out of Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 21, making the roughly six mile trek on a transport vehicle to SLC-41 to be mated atop the Atlas V rocket.
Read the full story at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boeing-and-nasa-approach-milestone-orbital-flight-test.
NASA and Boeing are proceeding with plans for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test following a full day of briefings and discussion called a Flight Readiness Review that took place at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Launch of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for 6:36 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 20, from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The uncrewed flight test will be Starliner’s maiden mission to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA is working with its commercial partners to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil for the first time since 2011. Safe, reliable and cost-effective human transportation to and from the space station will allow for additional research time and increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s testbed for exploration.
NASA will hold a post-flight readiness review teleconference at 3 p.m. EST for media from Kennedy with the following representatives:
NASA and Boeing are holding a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) today at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The review provides NASA and Boeing the opportunity to assess the mission status and work that needs to be completed prior to the critical flight test.
Ken Bowersox, deputy associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA Headquarters, is leading the meeting. The senior Boeing official at the review is Jim Chilton, senior vice president, Boeing Space and Launch.
Teams have gathered from across the agency and Boeing to hear presentations from key mission managers. The FRR is an in-depth assessment on the readiness of flight for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and systems, mission operations, support functions and readiness of the space station program to support Starliner’s maiden mission to the International Space Station. The meeting will conclude with a poll of all members of the review board.
Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to rendezvous and dock with the orbiting laboratory. Launch is targeted for Friday, Dec. 20.
The flight test will provide valuable data NASA will review as part of the process to certify Boeing’s crew transportation system is as safe as possible for carrying astronauts to and from the space station.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft passes by the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 21, making its way to the Space Launch Complex 41 Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At the pad, Starliner will be secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in preparation for Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
