Boeing Starliner ISS launch: how to watch the redesign test flight live

If at first you are unsuccessful, try, retry returning your spacecraft to orbit to dock with the International Space Station. On July 30, Boeing is preparing to relaunch its Starliner crew capsule (with no humans on board) for a second attempt to reach the ISS, after its the first test at the end of 2019 failed to reach the station.

Software faults and a communications link problem led to an early termination of the original test flight, although the CST-100 Starliner capsule landed safely on Earth. The upcoming Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission is a chance for Boeing to thoroughly check its hardware and software before a crew flies a Starliner.

Boeing and SpaceX are both part of NASA’s commercial crew program, which involves sending astronauts to the ISS from US soil. SpaceX has now delivered 10 astronauts to the ISS, and Boeing would like to catch up. First, he will have to show that his Starliner can reach the ISS safely, and then return to Earth.

NASA will live stream the launch on Friday, July 30, with coverage starting at 11:00 a.m. PT. Launch time is scheduled for 11:53 a.m. PT.

Starliner will take off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida. The capsule will be packed with crew supplies and cargo destined for the ISS. If all goes well, it will dock with the ISS, be unloaded by the station crew, and repackaged with research samples to return to Earth.

Boeing will aim to bring Starliner back for a smooth parachute landing in a desert area of ​​New Mexico.

“OFT-2 will provide valuable data that will help NASA certify Boeing’s crew transport system to transport astronauts to and from the space station,” NASA said in a statement Thursday after successfully concluding a review flight preparation.

The mission is a key milestone for NASA’s plans to conduct regular crewed launches from the United States, ending its reliance on Russian spacecraft. If all goes well, SpaceX may soon have company to transport NASA’s astronauts from Florida into orbit.

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