by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

It was a busy first half of 2022 that saw 77 orbital launches with 74 successes and three failures through the 182nd day of the year on July 1. At a rate of one launch every 2 days 8 hours 44 minutes, the world is on track to exceed the 146 launches conducted in 2021.

A number of significant missions were launched during a period that saw more than 1,000 satellite launched. SpaceX flew the first fully commercial crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Boeing conducted an orbital flight test of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, China prepared to complete assembly of its space station, South Korea launched its first domestically manufactured rocket, and Rocket Lab sent a NASA mission to the moon.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

NASA Mission Update

NASA will fly two astronaut test pilots aboard the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station, where they will live and work off the Earth for about two weeks.

CFT commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore, whom NASA assigned to the prime crew in October 2020, will join NASA astronaut Suni Williams, who will serve as pilot. Williams previously served as the backup test pilot for CFT while assigned as commander of NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 mission, Starliner’s first post-certification mission. As CFT pilot, Williams takes the place of NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, originally assigned to the mission in 2018. NASA reassigned Mann to the agency’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission in 2021.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA will provide live coverage of the upcoming return activities for the agency’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2). As part of the uncrewed flight test, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will depart from the International Space Station for a landing in the western United States.

The spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously undock from the space station to begin the journey home at 2:36 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 25. NASA and Boeing are targeting 6:49 p.m. for the landing and conclusion of OFT-2, wrapping up a six-day mission testing the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Astronauts living aboard the International Space Station opened the hatch for the first time to Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft at 12:04 p.m. EDT Saturday, May 21, on its uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 8:28 p.m. EDT. Starliner launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on a flight test to the International Space Station at 6:54 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Boeing Mission Update

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is proceeding toward the International Space Station on the NASA-Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2).

Boeing and NASA met as an ISS Mission Management Team (IMMT) this afternoon to review the status of the flight test and approved a plan to proceed toward the final phase of rendezvous and docking, which remains scheduled at 7:10 p.m. EDT.

Docking broadcast coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on www.nasa.gov/live.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., (United Launch Alliance PR) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V carrying Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, lifted off on May 19 at 6:54 p.m. EDT, from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. To date ULA has launched 150 times with 100 percent mission success. This marks the 93^rd successful launch of an Atlas V rocket, and the 104^th launch from SLC-41. 

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (United Launch Alliance PR) — A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket is in final preparations to launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The launch is planned for Thurs. May 19 at 6:54 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The live launch broadcast begins no earlier than 6 p.m. EDT on May 19 at www.ulalaunch.com.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA and Boeing are taking another major step on the path to regular human spaceflight to the International Space Station using American rockets to launch spacecraft from American soil with the second uncrewed test flight of a commercial crew spacecraft.

United Launch Alliance Mission Information

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft on its Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station. OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight of the Starliner that will demonstrate the spacecraft’s human transportation capabilities. This test flight is the last major step before the Atlas V and Boeing’s Starliner capsule take American astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Launch Date and Time: Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 UTC)
Webcast: Begins May 19 at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 UTC)