Starliner Flight Test Mission Taking Shape at Space Launch Complex 41
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (NASA PR) — The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket set to launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on its maiden voyage to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is ready for the mating of Starliner to the top of the launch vehicle.
On Monday, Nov. 4, the Atlas V’s first stage was lifted to the vertical position inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, followed by the mating of two solid rocket boosters to the booster. ULA teams then attached the Centaur upper stage and launch vehicle adapter atop the Atlas V first stage.
Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT) mission will rendezvous and dock the Starliner spacecraft with the space station. OFT will help set the stage for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test (CFT), which will carry NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Nicole Mann, and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson to the space station and return them safely home.
As aerospace industry providers Boeing and SpaceX begin to make regular flights to the space station, NASA will continue to advance its mission to go beyond low-Earth orbit and establish a human presence on the Moon with the ultimate goal of sending astronauts to Mars.
9 responses to “Starliner Flight Test Mission Taking Shape at Space Launch Complex 41”
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Cool. It’s finally happening
go go go
I thought the capsule bottom fairing was tapered not square and open as shown. Maybe more to add. I guess it would work like that shown.
That was before wind tunnel tests showed that an aeroskirt is necessary to enhance aerodynamic stability.
Is that because of the new second stage the Atlas needed to be able to put the Starliner in orbit because of its weight?
I don’t think so. Centaur has the same dimensions, regardless if it’s the one-engine variant or the two-engine variant used for Starliner. It’s just that the aerodynamic flow from the wide diameter of Starliner to the narrow Centaur became unstable as tests showed and an aeroskirt worked better than a tapered adapter.
IIRC the open fairing is there to reduce the aerodynamic loads on the upper part of the Centaur but with minimum mass. The perforated ring fin around Starliner itself is to break up airflow.
Meanwhile SpaceX has completed the full duration static test of the Dragon Crew abort system. Next will be the inflight abort as soon as NASA signs off on it.
Atlas V almost looks tiny.