It’s getting real y’all. In less than two weeks, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will climb aboard the new Boeing Starliner crew capsule for a test flight that will carry them to the International Space Station for a 10-day stay. Launching no earlier than 10:34 PM EDT on May 6th, the flight represents the first crewed flight test of the Starliner.
The Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission is scheduled nearly two years after the second uncrewed test flight, known as OFT-2, which successfully docked with the station and then returned to Earth. This follows the initial uncrewed test flight in December 2019, which encountered malfunctions that prevented the spacecraft from reaching the station, resulting in an early return to Earth after just a few days.
Preflight Preparations Underway
Astronauts Wilmore and Williams entered pre-flight quarantine at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday, and will remain there until they fly to Cape Canaveral on Thursday April 25th. The purpose of a pre-flight quarantine is to ensure that the astronauts are not subjected to viruses and other harmful bacteria that they potentially carry to the ISS with them.
In the background, extensive preparations are underway including the Flight Test Readiness Review scheduled for today and Thursday, April 25. This critical review will involve NASA, Boeing, ULA, and international partners, ensuring that all systems, facilities, and personnel are fully prepared and verified for the mission’s demands, from launch to landing.
Upon a successful flight test, the third for Starliner, NASA will proceed with the certification of the Starliner spacecraft for regular manned missions to the space station, further solidifying its capabilities for crew rotation.
The Mission Plan
Following the launch from Space Launch Complex-41 aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft will perform a critical engine burn to enter orbit, initiating a roughly 24-hour journey to the International Space Station. This mission is part of a series of flight tests aimed at certifying the Starliner for regular crew rotations under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The flight objectives span various critical operations starting from prelaunch through the ascent phase, where the performance of the crew equipment, including their suits and seats, will be evaluated. As Starliner approaches the space station, the focus shifts to assessing the spacecraft’s thruster performance for potential manual abort scenarios, conducting communication checkouts, and testing both manual and automated navigation systems. The life support systems will also be evaluated during this phase.
Image Credits: NASA
Upon reaching the space station, Starliner is slated to autonomously dock with the forward-facing port of the Harmony module. Post-docking, the astronauts will conduct hatch operations, setting up Starliner for its stay at the station and transferring emergency equipment inside. During its docked period, the onboard crew will scrutinize the spacecraft’s interior systems, displays, and cargo transfer mechanisms. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will also test the spacecraft’s capability to serve as a “safe haven” during emergencies, such as station depressurization, fires, or collision threats from orbital debris.
After approximately a week of working with the Expedition 71 crew aboard the ISS, Wilmore and Williams will re-enter Starliner for their return journey to Earth. This phase includes a flight test objective to assess manual piloting capabilities before reverting to autonomous operations. The crew will spend about six hours in the spacecraft from undocking until the first landing opportunity. During re-entry, the spacecraft will decelerate from its orbital speed of 17,500 miles per hour, with the crew potentially experiencing forces up to 3.5 g. After re-entry, the forward heat shield will be jettisoned to expose the parachute system, which consists of two drogue and three main parachutes to slow the descent further.
Upon nearing the ground, the base heat shield will deploy, revealing the dual airbag system at the base of the capsule. These airbags will inflate to cushion the spacecraft’s landing at roughly 4 mph, targeting potential sites such as the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Willcox, Arizona; Dugway Proving Ground, Utah; with Edwards Air Force Base in California serving as a contingency.
Image Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Post-landing, the crew is tasked with jettisoning the parachutes, powering down the spacecraft, and establishing communication with mission control via satellite phone. Recovery operations involve safety checks for any residual hypergolic propellants and grounding of the spacecraft’s electrical systems before the recovery team approaches. A tent will be erected around Starliner for environmental control, and a mobile access platform will facilitate hatch operations. The astronauts will then proceed to medical checks within an hour of landing.
Following a successful mission and recovery, NASA will finalize the certification of Starliner as a reliable crew transport system for long-term missions to the ISS, with the next mission, Boeing Starliner-1, planned for 2025. This initiative underscores NASA’s commitment, in collaboration with the American aerospace industry, to launching astronauts from American soil, ensuring a sustained human presence in low Earth orbit, and advancing space exploration as a stepping-stone for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
