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Boeing Starliner-1

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This article is about the space mission. For Starliner unit #1, see Boeing Starliner § List of spacecraft. For Starliner flight #1, see Boeing Starliner § List of flights.

Boeing Starliner-1
Artist's impression of a Boeing Starliner docking to the ISS
Names
  • Post Certification Mission-1
  • PCM-1[1]
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorBoeing Defense, Space & Security
Mission duration180 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftBoeing Starliner Spacecraft 2
Spacecraft typeBoeing Starliner
ManufacturerBoeing Defense, Space & Security
Launch mass13,000 kg (29,000 lb)
Crew
Crew size4
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateTBD[2]
RocketAtlas V N22[a]
Launch siteCape Canaveral, SLC-41
ContractorUnited Launch Alliance[b]
End of mission
Landing dateTBD
Landing siteTBD[c]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony forward or zenith
Time docked180 days (planned)

Boeing Starliner-1, also called Post Certification Mission-1 (PCM-1), is the name of the first operational crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Commercial Crew Program. It was originally planned as the first Starliner mission following the Starliner Crewed flight test (CFT).[4] The CFT was not a complete success and as of November 2024 the launch date and name for the next Starliner mission is not known.[2]

Crew

[edit]

The initial crew assignments were made in 2018, but the Starliner program has encountered multiple delays resulting in multiple changes in the crew assignments. On 18 April 2022, NASA said that it had not finalized which of the cadre of Starliner astronauts, including Barry Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Sunita Williams, will fly on the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission or this mission.[5] On 16 June 2022, NASA confirmed that CFT was to be a two-person flight test, and Williams was assigned to the CFT mission.

On 30 September 2022, Scott D. Tingle was assigned as commander and Michael Fincke as pilot.[6] Fincke was also a backup crew member on Boe-CFT.[7]

On 22 November 2023, Joshua Kutryk was assigned to the mission by the Canadian Space Agency.[8] Expedition 72/73 astronaut Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is expected to take the fourth seat.[9]

Due to its delays, several astronauts originally assigned to Starliner-1 were reassigned to other missions: In 2018, Sunita Williams was planned to fly on Starliner-1,[10] she was later reassigned to the earlier CFT. Jeanette Epps was added to the Starliner-1 mission on 25 August 2020[11] but reassigned to SpaceX Crew-8 in August 2023.[12] Koichi Wakata was officially added to the Starliner-1 mission on 21 May 2021 but then reassigned to the SpaceX Crew-5 mission which launched in October 2022.[13][14][15]

As this marks the first operational flight of Starliner, a Russian cosmonaut is not expected to be on board as Roscosmos has stated they do not want to put Russian cosmonauts on Starliner until it has flown successful Commercial Crew Program flights.[16]

Prime crew
Position Crew member
Commander United States Scott D. Tingle, NASA
Expedition 73/74
Second spaceflight
Pilot United States Michael Fincke, NASA
Expedition 73/74
Fourth spaceflight
Mission Specialist Canada Joshua Kutryk, CSA
Expedition 73/74
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist Japan Kimiya Yui, JAXA
Expedition 73/74
Second spaceflight

Mission

[edit]

This mission was intended to be the first reuse of a Starliner spacecraft. That vehicle was initially flown as the first uncrewed Orbital Flight Test mission in December 2019. On 22 December 2019, Sunita Williams (at that time assigned to be commander on this mission) announced the name "Calypso" for the spacecraft.[17] Calypso was used for Boe-CFT instead. Spacecraft 2, which was used for Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2, will instead be flying this mission.

Due to various technical issues during the Boeing Crew Flight Test, including NASA deeming it was too risky to return its astronauts to Earth onboard the Starliner, the path to Starliner's NASA certification has been put into doubt, as it is possible Boeing would need to perform a second Crew Flight Test[18], which would result in significant delays to Starliner-1.[19][20][21]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ N22 designates that the Atlas V has no payload fairing, two solid rocket boosters, and two Centaur second-stage engines.
  2. ^ Boeing owns a 50% stake in ULA. Lockheed Martin owns the other 50%.
  3. ^ Potential landing locations include two sites inside the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Willcox Playa in Arizona, the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and Edwards Air Force Base in California.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Foust, Jeff (5 March 2023). "NASA and Roscosmos planning to add mission to seat barter agreement". Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b Niles-Carnes, Elyna (15 October 2024). "NASA Updates 2025 Commercial Crew Plan". NASA. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  3. ^ "NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Mission Overview". NASA. Archived from the original on 1 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Boeing's Starliner Makes Progress Ahead of Flight Test with Astronauts". NASA Commercial Crew. NASA. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Clark, Stephen (18 May 2022). "Starliner astronauts eager to see results of crew capsule test flight". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  6. ^ "NASA Updates Crew Assignments for First Starliner Crew Rotation Flight". NASA. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ Potter, Sean (16 June 2022). "NASA Updates Astronaut Assignments for Boeing Starliner Test Flight". NASA. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. ^ Cawley, James (22 November 2023). "Mission Specialist Assigned to NASA's Boeing Starliner-1 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Next up is launch, as Boeing's Starliner takes trek to Cape Canaveral". 17 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  10. ^ "NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft". 3 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  11. ^ Boeing [@Boeing] (25 August 2020). "The Starliner team is adding a new NASA astronaut" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "Space Station Assignments Out for NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission". 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  13. ^ "NASA, Boeing target July 30 for redo of Starliner test flight to ISS". Orlando Sentinel. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  14. ^ "NASA Announces Astronaut Changes for Upcoming Commercial Crew Missions" (Press release). NASA. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  15. ^ @jaxa_wdc (12 October 2021). "JAXA has announced their WAKATA Koichi @Astro_Wakata is headed for the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "NASA official sees possibility of expanding integrated flight deal with Russia". TASS. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  17. ^ Williams, Sunita [@Astro_Suni] (22 December 2019). "Thanking two mission control personnel" (Tweet) – via Twitter. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  18. ^ Clark, Stephen (24 August 2024). "NASA's Starliner decision was the right one, but it's a crushing blow for Boeing". Ars Technica.
  19. ^ Roulette, Joey. "SpaceX to return Boeing's Starliner astronauts from space next year". Reuters. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  20. ^ Wattles, Jackie. "Boeing Starliner astronaut: 'We found some things that we just could not get comfortable with'". CNN. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  21. ^ "NASA, Boeing Welcome Starliner Spacecraft to Earth, Close Mission". NASA. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
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