Practiced, prepared, checked out, refilled, and inspected – the Starliner team is proceeding through checklists to be ready for return when a date is chosen. They spent Tuesday practicing for undocking during an integrated simulation with the International Space Station. Teams occupied their consoles in the Mission Control Center in Houston and in Boeing’s Mission […]
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Starliner Docked Hot Fire Testing Complete
Spacecraft thrusters tested and helium system checked in second successful docked hot fire test. The Starliner team completed a docked hot fire test of the spacecraft’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters Saturday afternoon, and monitored its helium system, providing additional data points for the Crew Flight Test’s return to Earth. With Starliner flight director Chloe […]
Starliner team closes in on thruster issue root cause, prepares for return to Earth
Thruster testing and inspections on the ground lead to meaningful findings prior to Starliner’s return. With ground testing of a Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster complete and disassembly and inspections concluding, the Starliner team is reviewing data that will aid in future missions and pave the way for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams […]
Starliner thruster ground testing complete, data reviews underway
Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now turning their attention to data reviews. The test objective was to observe thruster degradation so teams could get a better understanding of why some thrusters were deselected in-flight and what, if […]
CFT Commander Rates Starliner Handling of Manual Flying Tests
On the Starliner crew’s 35th day in space, Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore brought the focus back to day one. “Launch was spectacular! I mean, truly amazing,” Wilmore said. During the first press conference between Wilmore, pilot Suni Williams, and the media, he praised Starliner for its precision. “The spacecraft performed unbelievably well,” Wilmore […]
Starliner works “exceptionally well” as Safe Haven in real-life scenario
Week in Review: Starliner crew wraps up third week in space Wednesday started as any other morning on-orbit for Starliner’s maiden crew, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Their exercise routine was followed by organizing cargo inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module. But the nominal day quickly changed when a satellite broke apart at an altitude […]