Boeing CST-100 Starliner

Launch data: Launch date  04 Nov 2019 (abort test) Launch site  CC, SLC-41 Launch vehicle   - Mission  1e pad Abort test Time in flight  1m, 19s

Boeing′s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and its service module sit atop the test stand at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico ahead of the company′s first Pad Abort Test. Credit: Boeing

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• The Boeing CST-100 Starliner (Crew Space Transportation) crew capsule is a spacecraft design under construction by Boeing as their entry for NASA′s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. Its primary purpose is to transport crew to the International Space Station (ISS) and to private space stations such as the proposed Bigelow Aerospace Commercial Space Station.
• Starliner is similar in concept to the Orion spacecraft being built for NASA by Lockheed Martin. The capsule has a diameter of 4.56 meters (15.0 ft), which is slightly larger than the Apollo command module and smaller than the Orion capsule. The Starliner is to support larger crews of up to seven people and is being designed to be able to remain on-orbit for up to seven months with reusability of up to ten missions.
• It is designed to be compatible with four launch vehicles: Atlas V, Delta IV, Falcon 9, and Vulcan, and the maiden flight will be launched with the Atlas V N22, from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
• After years of anticipation, Boeing is on the verge of several major milestone flight tests for their new CST-100 Starliner crew capsule, starting at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico with a critical pad abort test to prove it can safely escape an exploding rocket to save the crew.
• For the test, Starliner′s four launch abort engines (LAE) will ignite with a combined 160,000 pounds of thrust to send the vehicle and its test dummy rider skyward to 4,500 feet high and about 7,000 feet north, while orbital maneuvering and attitude (OMAC) thrusters kick in simultaneously to maneuver Starliner into the proper orientation to begin the landing phase.
• The ascent cover and forward heat shield protecting the spacecraft′s parachutes will jettison 19 seconds into flight, followed by drogue parachute deployment, then main parachute deployment, followed by separation of the service module from the crew module, followed by the base heat shield. Finally, airbags will inflate, and Starliner will touch down gently a mile from its test stand, be recovered and brought back to nearby Launch Complex 32 for evaluation and analysis.

Boeing′s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and its service module sit atop the test stand at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico ahead of the company′s Pad Abort Test

Mission details:

The Orbital Flight Test Starliner getting ready for propellant loading ahead of rollout to the Atlas-V launch site for its upcoming Orbital Flight Test. Photo: Boeing.

Only two of three parachutes deployed in Boeing′s Pad Abort Test of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The system is designed to land just fine in the event of losing a parachute, and both NASA and Boeing consider the test a succes.

• On Nov 4th, 2019, Boeing conducted the first major flight test of their new CST-100 Starliner crew capsule, flying off a launch stand at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for a pad abort test to demonstrate and prove it can safely escape an exploding rocket to save its crew.
• For the test, Starliner′s four launch abort engines (LAE) ignited with a combined 160,000 pounds of thrust to send the vehicle and its test dummy rider skyward. Five seconds later the abort engines shut off as planned, as control thrusters took over steering for the next five seconds, as Starliner pitched around and rotated into position for landing as it neared its peak altitude of 4,500 feet.
• However, as the landing sequence played out only two of three main parachutes deployed. And while that may seem like cause for concern, Boeing and NASA have stated that the system was designed to land fine fine under two parachutes if needed.

CST-100 Starliner landed gently under two parachutes and airbags in the New Mexico desert in the Pad Abort Test for NASA′s Commercial Crew Program on Nov 4, 2019. Photo: NASA / Boeing

External links:

• Wikipedia: Description
  
• Boeing: Description
  
• Space.com: 1st Test Flight in March 2019?
  
• Space.com: A Look at the Upcoming Astronaut Taxis