NASA has moved the launch attempt of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner to Tuesday after a mishap at the International Space Station during the arrival of a Russian science module.
Liftoff is set for 1:20 p.m. The mission was originally scheduled for Friday.
On Thursday, the Russian module unexpectedly fired its thrusters, knocking the station temporarily 45 degrees off its normal orientation, according to NASA Mission Control in Houston.
While NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos officials were able to get the ISS back in position and all crew on board were safe, NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance opted to delay the Starliner. The capsule will head into space atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s launch Complex 41.
Starliner is attempting to complete its uncrewed demonstration flight, called Orbital Test Flight-2, as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing along with SpaceX were awarded contracts to develop spacecraft to take over duties of ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS from U.S. launch sites as opposed to relying on the Russians.
While SpaceX has moved forward from both its uncrewed and crewed demo flights and is in the midst of its second operational mission, Boeing is playing catchup after software and communication errors caused its December 2019 test flight of Starliner to never actually dock with the ISS.
Although it launched and landed safely, NASA at the time referred to the flight as a “high visibility close call” that led to a post-launch review with 80 recommended software, hardware and workflow changes to the Starliner program.
Now more than 18 months later, Boeing will have to wait a little longer.
A delay, though, may be a boon for the attempt since Friday’s liftoff was planned for 2:53 p.m. and the 45th Space Wing weather squadron’s forecast only called for 40% chance of favorable conditions.
“Any time me and my colleagues see a launch being put on the schedule, or on the calendar during the summer months from Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, we always have to be prepared for a challenge, and this particular launch is no different,” said Launch Weather Officer Will Ulrich at a Tuesday briefing. “You know this time of year, anyone who’s familiar with East Central Florida weather knows that each afternoon we typically see showers and thunderstorms over the area.”
If successful, OFT-2 would be followed by the Crewed Flight Test with three NASA astronauts on board as early as the end of the year. After that, Boeing could join SpaceX in regular rotational service for six-month missions to the ISS.
