Launch Spotlight: Starliner OFT-2 – CST-100 Starliner’s second test flight to the ISS

Jared Locke | May 19 2022 - 3:54 pm PT

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V N22 rocket will launch the Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule to the International Space Station for its second test flight. The target liftoff time is 6:54 PM EDT on May 19, 2022, from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Launch Overview

Launch Date: May 19, 2022 @ 6:54 PM EDT

Payload: Boeing CST-100 Starliner

Rocket: Atlas V N22

Launch Pad: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

Destination: International Space Station

Landing Site: N/A; Expendable rocket

The Mission

Boeing is conducting the second orbital flight test (OFT-2) for its CST-100 Starliner capsule under the NASA Commercial Crew Program. This test follows the failed first test flight where software issues led to the capsule not docking with the space station. This mission was set to launch in 2021 but after corrosion issues with valves in the capsule’s service module propulsion system, the mission was delayed until now. The capsule is slated to spend 5 to 10 days aboard the station before returning to Earth.

What is the Atlas V?

The Atlas rocket has been a workhorse for the United States military and NASA. The Atlas V family tree goes back to the late 1950s as one of the US military’s first ICBMs. However, the military quickly determined liquid-fueled rockets were better suited for the satellite business, and the Atlas launcher was born. NASA and the Department of Defense used the Atlas for Project Mercury, Gemini, and some of the most critical scientific and national security missions throughout its history.