posted 04-03-2019 09:28 AM               

Please use this topic to discuss Boeing's CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station.

posted 04-11-2019 10:03 AM               

Above: Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson helps NASA astronauts Nicole Mann (left) and Mike Fincke (right) train for a spacewalk inside the International Space Station Airlock Mockup at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in February.

Above: Boeing astronaut and CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test crew member Chris Ferguson trains for a contingency water landing in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Above: NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson review International Space Station training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

posted 12-06-2019 01:57 PM               

From left to right, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson, and NASA astronaut Nicole Mann pose for the official crew portrait for Boeing's Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station, part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

posted 08-28-2020 01:42 PM               

After a successful OFT-2, Boeing and NASA will fly Starliner’s first crewed mission, the Crew Flight Test, currently targeted for no earlier than June 2021.

Recently, the CFT crew helped test software updates with real flight hardware in Boeing’s Avionics and Software Integration Lab in Houston. They practiced performing manual separation events for several low likelihood contingencies, demonstrating the software improvements had no adverse effect on controls needed to stay safe in any situation. The crew also participated in procedural dry runs for future life support tests with the Starliner spacecraft in Florida. Later this year, the CFT crew will be suited inside the spacecraft with the vehicle providing all of their life support.

posted 10-07-2020 10:10 AM               

"I have full confidence in the Starliner vehicle, the men and women building and testing it, and the NASA astronauts who will ultimately fly it," Ferguson said. "The Boeing team has taken all lessons from our first uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to heart, and is making Starliner one of the safest new crewed spacecraft ever fielded. I will be here on the ground supporting Butch, Nicole and Mike while they prove it."

posted 05-19-2022 07:59 AM               

We'll be looking at final CFT and PCM-1 timelines this summer and then we'll be making final crew selections for all for the increments coming up.

Since that time in August, the three of us [Wilmore, Mike Fincke and Suni Williams] have been working as a cadre supporting Starliner and we know that we are not necessarily assigned for CFT and we've known that since that timeframe.

The powers that be could assign anyone they want. We hope they pick one of us three or a couple of us three to go on CFT — we've been working the program — but we've known since that time that we've been working as a cadre.

She did say, however, that they are not looking at flying a Boeing company astronaut on CFT, only NASA astronauts.

Below: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Mike Fincke and Barry "Butch" Wilmore at the launch pad on May 18, 2022, before Boeing's Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the International Space Station. (Boeing/John Grant)

posted 06-16-2022 02:04 PM               

Mike Fincke will train as the backup spacecraft test pilot and remains eligible for assignment to a future mission.

posted 06-16-2022 04:01 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been assigned to fly the two-week Crew Flight Test.

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posted 06-16-2022 05:45 PM               

Based upon current space station resources and scheduling needs, a short duration mission with two astronaut test pilots is sufficient to meet all NASA and Boeing test objectives for CFT, which include demonstrating Starliner's ability to safely fly operational crewed missions to and from the space station. To protect against unforeseen events with crew transportation to the station, NASA may extend the CFT docked duration up to six months and add an additional astronaut later, if needed.

quote:

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Originally posted by brianjbradley:
I feel bad for Jeanette Epps, who doesn't seem to be in the Starliner rotation...

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NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps continues to prepare for an upcoming long duration mission aboard Starliner-1. NASA also has identified backup flight opportunities for Epps on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for additional scheduling and resource flexibility. Epps has begun cross-training on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for this possibility.

posted 07-01-2022 10:55 AM               

This date is far from written in stone. It is subject to adjustment for a variety of reasons, including the ongoing review of data from Starliner's first test flight in May, as well as docking port availability on the space station. However, that such a date is now appearing on the schedule indicates a reasonable possibility that Starliner will make a second flight this year.

A NASA spokesman, Josh Finch, said the agency was not ready to formally set a launch date for Boeing's Crew Flight Test.

"Boeing is working to be hardware ready in support of the company’s crewed flight test this year," Finch said. "The Starliner team is in the process of delivering the initial uncrewed flight test data to NASA and jointly determining forward work ahead of crewed flight. Engineering and program reviews are continuing, culminating in a launch schedule assessment toward the end of July based on spacecraft readiness, space station scheduling needs, and Eastern Range availability."

posted 08-25-2022 12:13 PM               

The CFT mission is expected to remain docked to the International Space Station for eight days.

posted 08-25-2022 10:41 PM               

I am not certain whether SpaceX is that good or Boeing is that bad, but I have my guesses.

posted 08-26-2022 08:01 PM               

That Boeing's option may have more crew control input options or provide more instrumentation for the crew to look at is somewhat irrelevant to the NASA requirements and a decision taken by Boeing.

As a part of the Commercial Crew Program, a Certification Products Contract (CPC) was developed to establish certification plans that were designed toward achieving safe, crewed missions to the space station. These included data that resulted in developing engineering standards, tests, and analyses of crew transportation system designs. Both Boeing and SpaceX met the certification standards set down.

The second phase of the two-phase certification plan for commercially built and operated integrated crew transportation systems was the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) Contract. For this, Boeing received $4.2 billion and SpaceX received $2.6 billion.

It should be noted that as a part of their certification process, SpaceX was asked to provide a reliable launch vehicle with their Falcon 9 design frozen at Block 5 and achieve a set number of successful launches to receive crew rating as a part of their system.

posted 03-23-2023 08:23 PM               

We're adjusting the space station schedule including the launch date for our Boeing Crew Flight Test as teams assess readiness and complete verification work. CFT now will launch following the Axiom Mission 2 for optimized station operations.

Target launch dates for Ax-2, still planned in early May, and Starliner will be shared soon.

posted 08-07-2023 01:17 PM               

We're anticipating that we're going to be ready with the spacecraft in early March. That does not mean that we have a launch date in early March. That means that we are ready with the spacecraft. We're now working with NASA's Commercial Crew Program Office and ULA on potential launch dates based on our readiness.

posted 08-07-2023 04:56 PM               

The way I look at it now is that without Boeing participating in Commercial Crew (CC) at the beginning of CC, and thus giving the US Government a feeling of reassurance about the CC program, we might not have seen the Commercial Crew program ever funded. To me it's almost like SLS... given that SLS gives Congress a "stake" in space exploration, Congress is willing to fund other programs, such as Starship HLS, that truly are useful.

posted 08-08-2023 09:28 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by perineau:
...do they really need a second spacecraft for the last four years of the ISS?

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