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The launch of Boeing’s next Starliner crew capsule test flight has been postponed until April 2 at the earliest after workers replaced spacecraft avionics units damaged by a power surge during testing.
Boeing’s second orbital flight test, or OFT-2 mission, will verify that the Starliner spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts into orbit for the first time later this year.
In a February 17 statement, Boeing and NASA said the launch of the OFT-2 mission had been postponed from March 25 to April 2 at the earliest. The eight-day delay was caused by a power surge during the spacecraft’s final checks at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Technicians replaced avionics units affected by the surge, Boeing said. “We continue to ensure the safety of our spacecraft products and address any emerging issues in a timely manner.”
NASA said the surge was caused by a “problem with the configuration of ground support equipment.”
Last month, teams inside the commercial team and the cargo handling facility at Kennedy docked the crew module and service module of the Starliner spacecraft. The entire spacecraft was recently moved to a different area of the facility to receive its load of dangerous thrusters.
The Starliner’s thrusters consume a toxic mixture of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide for maneuvering in space. The capsule’s stop motors use the same powerful combination of thrusters.
Boeing said it was ready for a mission rehearsal using Starliner flight hardware and software. The end-to-end test will simulate a Starliner mission from launch to dock with the International Space Station, and undock to landing, a repeat that Boeing did not perform prior to the Starliner’s first orbital test flight in 2019.
The OFT-2 mission is a repeat of Boeing’s OFT-1 test flight in December 2019. Software glitches on the OFT-1 mission prevented the Starliner spacecraft from docking with the space station, forcing an early landing under parachutes at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico.
“NASA continues to work alongside Boeing to prepare for this first mission of 2021,” Steve Stich, director of NASA’s commercial crew program, said in a statement. “The teamwork of Boeing and NASA on all aspects of flight preparation, including final certification, hazard analysis and software testing, is extraordinary. While this unmanned flight test at the International Space Station is a key step on the way to the inaugural Starliner crewed mission scheduled for later this year, we will fly when we’re ready.
Engineers verified about 95% of the recommendations identified by a joint NASA-Boeing review team that investigated issues that affected the OFT-1 mission.
“We appreciate the tremendous work NASA is doing ahead of launch,” said John Vollmer, vice president of Starliner and program director at Boeing. “We are fully engaged in the agency’s review process to ensure confidence in the spacecraft.”
Boeing said earlier this month that engineers have completed the “requalification” of the Starliner software code, paving the way for the end-to-end repetition that is expected to begin soon.
The Starliner spacecraft is one of two new crew pods designed to transport astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule flew with astronauts for the first time last May, but Boeing’s software glitches have delayed the Starliner program by more than a year.
NASA has contracted with Boeing and SpaceX to develop the new crew capsules, ending the United States’ dependence on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for astronaut transport services.
Assuming the week-long OFT-2 test flight goes well, Boeing hopes to launch the Starliner’s first crew flight test with a crew of three as early as September. The three astronauts will dock at the space station, where they are expected to spend one to two weeks before returning to Earth.
After the flight crew test, NASA will certify the Starliner to perform operational crew rotation missions to the space station. Boeing is under contract with NASA for at least six of them, each carrying four astronauts and lasting up to seven months.
Once the Starliner spacecraft is powered up, Boeing will transfer the capsule to the United Launch Alliance’s vertical integration center at the Space Force station at Cape Canaveral. Cranes there will hoist the spacecraft above its Atlas 5 launcher next month, a few weeks ahead of the scheduled April 2 launch date.
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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @ StephenClark1.
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