(ORDO NEWS) — Crew Dragon’s main competitor in the field of manned spaceflight is systematically unlucky. The CST-100 Starliner project is developing much more slowly than the brainchild of SpaceX.
The next test flight, this time manned, is scheduled for April 2023. Representatives of NASA and Boeing reported on the degree of readiness of the ship for the most important test before the start of full operation.
The pre-launch preparation of the spacecraft is 80 percent complete. The next critical step, refueling the service module, will begin in the first half of March.
The launch of the CST-100 Starliner on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for mid or late April.
This will be the last test flight of the ship, during which it must confirm its readiness for permanent use as a means of delivering people and cargo to orbit and then back.
The Boe-CFT mission will last eight days, of which six will be docked at the International Space Station (ISS).
Theoretically, if the flight goes smoothly, the Starliner crew and all equipment should be able to spend up to six months on the ISS. And also be ready to take a third astronaut on board.
Recall that testing CST-100 Starliner faced a series of troubles. In the first test unmanned flight ( OFT-1, December 2019), incorrect operation of the on-board computer led to excessive fuel consumption after launch into orbit.
Because of this, the ship was unable to dock with the ISS and complete the key tasks of the mission.
The second attempt ( OFT-2 , May 2021) was more successful and is considered successful, but its start was postponed several times. At first, software problems arose again, and it took several months to fix them.
At the same time, the Starliner launch window for OFT-2 shifted and began to conflict with the schedule of other ships docked to the ISS.
As a result, it was moved further, and while they were waiting for the opportunity to take off, it turned out that there were comments on the fuel system of the service module.
The fact is that the ship spent a long time in a refueled state, and this helped to identify an unforeseen problem. Normally, a small part of the fuel components can leak past the valves.
Usually this does not cause any problems, but the CST-100 Starliner had condensate in the purge pipelines, which reacted with the fuel and oxidizer, and the pipes themselves and valves corroded.
It turned out to be not so easy to solve the problem: either completely redesign the ship in order to prevent such moments in the future, or change the refueling procedures.
For the first manned flights, the second option was chosen.
Now, the Starliner service module should not spend more than 60 days in a charged state , which is why they plan to fill in fuel with an oxidizer no earlier than March.
And changes in the design will appear only in the equipment for the second operational flight.
There is another factor limiting the launch window of Boe-CFT . On the ISS, only two docking ports are available for American spacecraft.
The first will take the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission Crew-6, which is scheduled to arrive at the station on February 27 and remain there for the duration of the expedition.
By March 5, the Crew-5 mission ship will undock from the second docking adapter, its place on the 12th will be taken by the cargo Dragon mission CRS-27 . It will stay attached to the station for at least a month.
That is, the place will be vacant no earlier than April 12. And already in May, the second private mission of Crew Dragon to the ISS, Axiom-2, is scheduled.
In other words, the schedule is incredibly tight: if the launch of Starliner is delayed, it risks again “going to the right” for many months.
The test pilots for the Boe-CFT flight will be experienced astronauts, just as they were for the manned Dragon in its day.
Chairs in the capsule will be occupied by Butch Wilmore ( Barry Eugene Wilmore ) and Sunita Williams ( Sunita Lyn Williams ). On account of the first – two flights, 178 days in orbit and more than 25 hours in outer space.
Williams, in turn, also flew twice, but spent 321 days in orbit, and 50 hours and 40 minutes in outer space. She held the record for the total time and number of spacewalks for a woman.
Both crew members, in addition to their astronaut careers, were US Navy test pilots. In addition, for both Wilmore and Williams, the CST-100 Starliner will be the third type of spacecraft they will fly.
Fun Fact: Williams worked alongside Michael López-Alegría on the STS-117 mission in 2007, who moved to Axiom Space after working for NASA and became commander of the first fully private spacecraft mission.
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