.jpg) Boeing Starliner Calypso launches on the Crew Flight Test atop an Atlas V rocket | |
| Names | Boe-CFT[1] |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Flight test |
| Operator | Boeing Defense, Space & Security |
| COSPAR ID | 2024-109A |
| SATCAT no. | 59968 |
| Website | nasa.gov/boeing-crewflighttest |
| Mission duration | 48 days and 57 minutes (in progress) ~8 days (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Boeing Starliner Calypso |
| Spacecraft type | Boeing Starliner |
| Manufacturer | Boeing Defense, Space & Security |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 2 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 5 June 2024, 14:52:15 UTC (10:52 AM EDT) |
| Rocket | Atlas V N22[a] |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance[b] |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | TBD |
| Landing site | White Sands Missile Range[c] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 51.66° |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | Harmony forward |
| Docking date | 6 June 2024, 17:34 UTC |
| Undocking date | TBD |
| Time docked | 46 days, 22 hours and 15 minutes (in progress) |
 Boeing Crew Flight Test mission patch .jpg) Williams (left) and Wilmore (right) | |
Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) is the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner capsule. Launched on 5 June 2024, the mission flew a crew of two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the International Space Station. The mission was to last eight days, ending with a ground landing in the American Southwest on 14 June. Instead, the mission was extended indefinitely after thrusters malfunctioned and helium leaked. NASA has not approved Starliner to fly back to Earth until the problems are solved or better understood.
The flight was initially to occur in 2017, but various delays pushed back the launch. The spacecraft's first two uncrewed orbital flight tests, Boe-OFT and Boe-OFT-2, took place in 2019 and 2022.
The spacecraft was integrated with the Atlas V launch vehicle on 16 April 2024 in preparation for launch. The flight was scheduled for 7 May 2024 but was scrubbed about two hours before liftoff due to an oxygen valve problem on United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Atlas V.[b] The launch was repeatedly delayed due to a leak of helium, which is used to pressurize the reaction control system thrusters in the Starliner service module. The second launch attempt was on 1 June, but was scrubbed 3 minutes, 50 seconds before liftoff when the ground launch sequencer computer registered a loss of redundancy due to a faulty power supply. The third launch attempt, on 5 June at 14:52 UTC (10:52 AM EDT at the launch site), was successful.
During the flight, more helium leaks were discovered, and as the Starliner approached the ISS, five of the 28 thrusters failed. Resetting and firing the thrusters eventually made four out of five work again, and the Starliner docked with the ISS after a delay.
- ^ "International Space Station Status" (PDF). NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
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