Boeing Crewed Flight Test facts for kids

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Boeing Crew Flight Test

Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 3 Calypso launches on the Crew Flight Test atop an Atlas V rocket
Names	Boe-CFT
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Mission duration	23 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes ~8 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 3 Calypso
Spacecraft type	Boeing Starliner
Manufacturer	Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Crew
Crew size	2
Members	Barry E. Wilmore Sunita Williams
Start of mission
Launch date	5 June 2024, 14:52:14 UTC
Rocket	Atlas V N22
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC-41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
End of mission
Landing date	TBD
Landing site	TBD
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.66°
Docking with International Space Station
Docking port	Harmony forward
Docking date	6 June 2024, 16:15 UTC (Planned)
Undocking date	TBD
Time docked	TBD
Williams (left) and Wilmore (Right) Commercial Crew Development ← Boeing OFT 2

Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) is the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner and the third orbital flight test of the Starliner overall after the two uncrewed orbital flight tests, Boe-OFT and Boe-OFT 2 in 2019 and 2022.

The first crewed flight test was initially planned to occur in 2017. Various delays pushed the launch of the CFT mission to no earlier than 21 July 2023. Boeing announced in August 2023 that it would be delayed to no earlier than March 2024 due to issues with the parachute system and wiring harnesses and further investigations.

The mission entails flying a crew of two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, to the International Space Station for a one-week test flight and then returning the crew via a ground landing in the American Southwest. The spacecraft was integrated with the Atlas launch vehicle on 16 April 2024 in preparation for launch.

The flight was scheduled for liftoff at 2:34 UTC on 7 May 2024, but was scrubbed about two hours before liftoff due to an oxygen valve problem on the United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Atlas V. After the initial scrub, the launch was repeatedly delayed due to a helium leak in the Starliner service module.

The second launch attempt was on 1 June at 16:25 UTC, but it 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, was successful.

Capsule

CFT is the second mission for the Starliner Calypso capsule, which was first used on the first Orbital Flight Test. NASA announced that Boeing prepared to reassemble the vehicle for flight, following multiple checkouts, for the CFT mission in August 2020, and that new parachutes and airbags would be fitted. The CFT capsule's docking system was modified to accommodate the new re-entry cover that debuted on the OFT 2 test flight.

Crew

Nicole Aunapu Mann was initially assigned to this mission, which would have made her the first woman to fly on the maiden crewed flight of an orbital spacecraft, but was subsequently reassigned to the SpaceX Crew-5 mission as the first female commander of a NASA Commercial Crew Program launch. Due to medical reasons, Eric Boe, who was originally assigned to the mission in August 2018 as the pilot was replaced by Michael Fincke on 22 January 2019. Boe will replace Fincke as the assistant to the chief for commercial crew in the astronaut office at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson was originally assigned to the flight as commander, but he was replaced by NASA astronaut Barry E. Wilmore on 7 October 2020. Ferguson cited family reasons for the replacement. Matthew Dominick replaced him on the backup crew.

On 18 April 2022, NASA said that it had not finalized which of the cadre of Starliner astronauts, including Barry E. Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Sunita Williams, will fly on this mission or the first operational Starliner mission. On 16 June 2022, NASA confirmed that this CFT mission will be a two-person flight test, consisting of Wilmore and Williams; Fincke is to train as the backup spacecraft test pilot and remains eligible for assignment to a future mission. Williams is the first woman to fly on a maiden crewed flight of an orbital spacecraft type (Judith Resnik was the first female crew member on the maiden flight of an orbital spacecraft, the Space Shuttle Discovery).

Prime crew

Position	Crew member
Spacecraft Commander	Barry E. Wilmore, NASA Third spaceflight
Pilot	Sunita Williams, NASA Third spaceflight

Backup crew

Position	Crew member
Spacecraft Commander	Michael Fincke, NASA

Mission

The third launch of the Atlas V N22 variant will launch Starliner with a crew of two. The vehicle will dock with the International Space Station, and return to Earth for a ground landing in the southwestern United States.

A toy narwhal, also named "Calypso", will be used by the crew as a zero-gravity indicator, signaling when the craft has reached weightlessness.

This will be the first launch of a crewed spacecraft by an Atlas V launch vehicle. In addition, Boe-CFT will be the first launch of a crewed spacecraft utilizing a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles since Project Mercury in the early 1960s, and the first launch of a crewed spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since that of Apollo 7 in October 1968.

Based upon 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 and from the station, NASA may extend the duration of the CFT docking for up to six months.

The Starliner will make a ground landing, a first for a crewed capsule mission launched from the United States. After reentering the atmosphere, three parachutes will be deployed, slowing the capsule to approximately 4 miles per hour (350 ft/min; 1.8 m/s). Before reaching the ground, six airbags will deploy to cushion the landing. There are four primary landing locations, including two sites inside the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Willcox Playa in Arizona and the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Edwards Air Force Base in California serves as a contingency landing location.

See also

• Commercial Crew Development
• SpaceX Dragon 2
• Crew Dragon Demo-2, SpaceX's first crewed mission of their capsule