United Launch Alliance (ULA), Boeing, and NASA have all started their final preparations for the second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) for the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. OFT-2 will demonstrate all of the changes made to the Starliner spacecraft following the partial failure on the first OFT mission in December 2019.
Preparations are also underway for the Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT), including the delivery of the Atlas V rocket to Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Changes made from OFT
On the morning of December 20, 2019, an Atlas V N22 launched from Space Launch Complex 41 with the Calypso Starliner spacecraft (also known as Starliner 3) for a planned eight day mission to the International Space Station. After successfully reaching orbit, Starliner suffered from several software issues causing its docking to the ISS to be called off.
It did, however, successfully accomplish many of its mission objectives before returning to Earth. It landed at the White Sands Space Harbor just two days after its launch.
The first Starliner OFT lifts off in December 2019 – via Brady Kenniston for NSF/L2
The Atlas V N22 placed Starliner into an initial, suborbital trajectory, and the issues began after separation from the Centaur upper stage. An orbital insertion burn was to start 31 minutes into the flight. However, an anomaly with Calypso’s Mission Elapsed Timer (MET) prevented Calypso from beginning the burn to place itself into orbit.
After a separate, intermittent communications issue, the Boeing team was able to send a command to Starliner to place itself into a stable orbit. The burn required Calypso’s fuel reserves to drop too low to reach the ISS. This led Boeing and NASA to call off the ISS docking and finish the mission early. Later, the Boeing team learned the incorrect MET time was found to have incorrectly used a time from the Atlas V launcher, approximately 11 hours before launch.
Before conducting its deorbit burn, a second software issue was found, this time pertaining to Starliner’s service module. Once the service module would separate, it would act as a separate spacecraft, but an error would cause the service module to impact Calypso. This code was found before beginning its descent procedures.
The team made software changes to ensure a safe service module separation, which were successful, and Calypso landed safely at White Sands. Calypso became the second orbital capable spacecraft to land at White Sands, after Shuttle Columbia on STS-3.
Soon after, Calypso was sent to the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center for refurbishment.
A joint independent investigation team was established with NASA and Boeing to recommend fixes to prevent future anomalies. The investigation team came out with 80 recommendations for hardware, software, testing and ground simulations, and more end-to-end testing before each flight.
While most changes made to Starliner are software, one notable change is not. Boeing added a new cover to the nose of the Starliner to help protect the docking system of Starliner from the dangers of reentry. This is similar to Dragon 2’s nose cone, protecting its docking system during ascent and descent.
All of these changes were implemented prior to fueling the Starliner spacecraft for OFT-2.
Our teams at the @NASAKennedy #Starliner factory installed and tested a new cover designed to protect the system that will connect the spacecraft to @Space_Station's International Docking Adapter. This will help maintain the health of the reusable vehicle and ISS. pic.twitter.com/Zo27VEcgHS
— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) January 15, 2021
“I am extremely proud of the NASA and Boeing Starliner teams as they methodically work toward the OFT-2 mission next month with final checks of the crew module and service module hardware and software as we prepare for this important uncrewed test mission,” said Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager.
“Closing all of the Independent Review Team findings for the software and communications systems is a huge milestone for the Commercial Crew Program and included many long hours of testing and reviews by our dedicated Boeing and NASA teams during this Covid-19 pandemic.”
Preparations for OFT-2
A few months after the first OFT mission was completed, Boeing made the decision to perform a second flight test. OFT-2 will be a complete redo of the OFT-1 mission to demonstrate changes made to the Starliner system. Boeing will use all the hardware originally tasked with the CFT mission. The Atlas V N22 used will be AV-082, and the Starliner used will be Starliner 2.
OFT was the first launch of the Atlas V in the N22 variant, meaning there was no fairing, two RL-10A-4-2 engines on the Centaur upper stage, and two AJ-60A solid rocket motors. This launch vehicle configuration will be used for all Starliner missions.
OFT-2 is currently set to launch on July 30 at 2:53 PM EDT (18:53 UTC). Starliner will stay in orbit for 5 to 10 days, and will deliver approximately 345 kg of cargo to the ISS, 200 kg of which will be for NASA. This cargo will consist of food and crew preference items for current ISS crew members.
Some cargo on OFT-2 will be in preparation for the CFT mission. A U.S. flag will be sent to the ISS to remain on the orbiting lab until CFT returns to Earth. Other provisions will include clothes and sleeping bags for the CFT Astronauts.
Starliner will also return approximately 188 kg of cargo to Earth for NASA at the conclusion of OFT-2.
The other 145 kg of cargo will be from Boeing. Some of this cargo includes special commemorative items from the Starliner team, including Rosie the Riveter commemorative coins, patches, flags from several historically black colleges and universities, and seeds that will be planted after the mission.
🚀 Rosie the Rocketeer is buckled in for the upcoming Starliner launch!
🌟 @BoeingSpace's anthropometric test device will fly on Starliner's second uncrewed mission, Orbital Flight Test-2, which is targeted to launch at 2:53 p.m. ET Friday, July 30: https://t.co/BhLc9Fraxq pic.twitter.com/JyrW9hgsqG
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) June 23, 2021
Rosie the Rocketeer, the Anthropometric test device used on OFT, will also make her second flight on OFT-2.
Preparation for OFT-2 started a couple of years prior in 2019. ULA, using their Rocketship boat, delivered AV-082 to Port Canaveral in June 2019, originally intended to support CFT. There it was taken from Rocketship to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) to begin final check-outs.
After OFT was complete, the Starliner 2 spacecraft began final preparations and modifications for OFT-2. In December 2020, the Service Module for OFT-2 was delivered to the CP3F to begin its own final preparations. In February 2021, the Starliner was mated to the service module.
The C3PF was formerly known as Orbiter Processing Facility-3 (OPF-3) during the Space Shuttle program. The C3PF is one of three OPFs built at Kennedy Space Center, with OPF-1 and OPF-2 currently used by Boeing for the X-37B program.
After the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, OPF-3 became the home of Space Shuttle Discovery until the end of the Shuttle program.
In June 2021, the Centaur upper stage was put in the Delta Operations Center (DOC) to begin its processing for the OFT-2 mission. At the same time, Starliner began fueling for the OFT-2 mission.
On June 17, ULA marked the Launch Vehicle On Stand (LVOS) milestone when the Atlas V first stage arrived at SLC-41. The same day, the Atlas V was lifted vertically and stacked in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF).
The Atlas V for OFT-2 is lifted on to the launch stand at the VIF at SLC-41 – via United Launch Alliance
Soon, the twin AJ-60 Solid Rocket Boosters and the Centaur upper stage will all be integrated within the next few weeks. Once integrated, the Atlas-Centaur duo will be rolled out to the launch site and complete a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR).
When the WDR is completed, the Atlas-Centaur stack will then be rolled back to the VIF, and Starliner will then be placed on top of the Centaur. The completed Atlas V will then roll out to the launch site for flight.
Currently, Crew Dragon Endeavour and the CRS-22 Cargo Dragon occupy International Docking Adaptors (IDAs) 2 and 3. Before the launch of the Starliner on OFT-2, CRS-22 Dragon will depart from the ISS after its one-month mission. Starliner will then take its spot at the station.
Once launched, OFT-2 will follow a similar mission plan to OFT. The Atlas V N22 will place Starliner into a suborbital trajectory, and the spacecraft will then place itself into orbit. Once approaching the space station, it will dock to the ISS’s Harmony module. After its time at the ISS, it will return to Earth, and Boeing will begin refurbishing Starliner for a future flight.
Looking forward to CFT
CFT will be the first crewed mission for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, similar to SpaceX Demo-2, which was a crewed test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2020.
The crew of CFT will consist of NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Nicole Mann, with Wilmore serving as the commander and Fincke as the pilot.
NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Michael Fincke in front of the Atlas V rocket which will launch them and Nicole Mann on the CFT mission – via NASA
Wilmore is a native of Tennessee and first flew into space on STS-129 on board Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009. He then flew on Soyuz TMA-14M to the ISS for Expeditions 41 and 42 between 2014 and 2015. He also holds the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy.
Fincke is a retired member of the U.S. Air Force, where he earned the rank of Colonel. He was selected to be an astronaut in 1996. He first flew in space on Soyuz TMA-4 to the ISS for Expedition 9 in 2004. For his second flight between 2008-2009, Fincke flew on Soyuz TMA-13 for Expedition 18. Fincke then flew on the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-134 in 2011.
CFT will be Mann’s first flight into space. She is a native of California and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a member of the military, she has flown combat missions over Afghanistan and Iraq, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Mann was selected to be an astronaut in 2013 as part of NASA Astronaut Group 21, nicknamed “The 8 Balls.”
Originally, the crew for CFT consisted of Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson alongside NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Nicole Mann. Ferguson removed himself from the flight in October 2020 due to family reasons, and Boe was removed from the flight in 2019 due to health reasons. Wilmore replaced Ferguson as commander, while Fincke replaced Boe as pilot.
The launch of CFT will be the first crewed Atlas flight since Mercury-Atlas-9, which carried Gordon Cooper on his Mercury spacecraft, named Faith 7. Cooper launched on an Atlas LV-3B from LC-14 at Cape Canaveral on May 15, 1963. Over the course of the mission, Cooper made 22.5 orbits of the earth and spent a total of 34 hours in space.
Like all Atlas V rockets manufactured by ULA, the first stage of the Atlas V designated for the CFT mission, AV-085, was built at ULA’s rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama. AV-085 was then loaded on board RocketShip and departed Alabama for Florida on June 14. The booster arrived at Port Canaveral on June 20.
The AV-085 booster to support CFT is offloaded at Port Canaveral – via Stephen Marr for NSF
On June 21, Atlas booster AV-085 and the dual-engine Centaur were offloaded from RocketShip, and arrived at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. AV-085 was delivered to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center, and the Centaur was delivered to the Delta Operations Center.
CFT will use the same spacecraft used on OFT, Calypso. This will mark the first time a Starliner is reused. The decision to use Calypso on CFT was made after the original hardware for CFT was moved to OFT-2.
Following the launch of OFT-2, ULA is set to launch another Atlas V no earlier than August. Originally scheduled before OFT-2, an Atlas V 551 will launch with the Space Test Program (STP)-3 mission.
The latest delay in the launch of STP-3 was due to an observation during ascent on the SBIRS GEO-5 mission. The mission was the first to use a new variant of the RL-10 engine, the RL-10-C-1-1, which is an upgrade made to test new technologies for Vulcan Centaur. With investigations into the new engine’s behavior ongoing, OFT-2 became the next Atlas V launch on the schedule.
(Lead render: A CST-100 Starliner, atop a dual-engine Centaur, separate from an Atlas V booster – via Mack Crawford for NSF/L2)