Boeing Completes Flight Readiness Tests For Orbital Flight Test-2

NASA and Boeing have announced they are proceeding with plans for the Boeing Starliner CST-100 uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the ISS. The confirmation that flight readiness tests were complete came from NASA following a full day of briefings and discussion during the Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center.

Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with liftoff scheduled for 2:53 PM EDT on Friday, July 30. The launch will happen at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and is part of the NASA Commercial Crew program. The mission intends to test end-to-end capabilities of Starliner, including launch, docking with the ISS, atmospheric reentry, and landing in the deserts of the Western US.

Boeing had to rework its Starliner spacecraft after the previous flight test didn't go as planned. It reworked the capsule making all modifications requested by NASA to ensure the Starliner spacecraft was safe and ready to carry astronauts into orbit. Once Starliner passes its flight review, it will be ready to begin carrying astronauts to and from the ISS as well as cargo.

Since OFT-2 will dock with the ISS, it is carrying a small amount of cargo to the space station. Earlier in the month, NASA and Boeing began preparing Starliner for its flight by fueling the rocket system. After fueling, the capsule was transported to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral to be mated with the United Launch Alliance rocket.

Previously, NASA and Boeing announced they had completed all actions recommended by the NASA-Boeing Independent Review Team. That team was created after the first flight of Starliner in December 2019. In May, Boeing completed the Starliner simulation mission to the ISS that simulated the entire mission from start to finish.