Boeing

In a press conference hosted by NASA, Boeing officials unveiled new problems found during its most recent review. These two issues are delaying the launch of Starliner’s Crewed Flight Test past the current July launch window with marginal hope of launching before the new year.

It looked like Boeing would have a fantastic April with the launch of its first crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft. However, now it seems like we’re going to have to wait until July before we see this milestone launch from the company to the International Space Station.

Earlier this month, NASA moved the SLS engine section for Artemis 3 into the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This comes as a distinct change from previous SLS core stages like the recently flown Artemis 1 and Artemis 2, which are still being assembled at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The biggest questions arising from this change are what NASA’s plan for Artemis 3 is and onwards and what stirred this sudden change.

In an interview with Newsweek, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson made a rather interesting comment about the agency’s two Commerical Crew partners’ progress. The once anti-commerical Senator praised SpaceX for its progress and threw shade at Boeing for still not completing its test flights.

In the company’s second quarterly earnings report, Boeing has absorbed a $96 million charge in relation to its Starliner spacecraft program. This brings Boeing’s Starliner cost overrun tally to $688 million due to numerous problems.

NASA announced quietly on June 1 that they are preparing to buy five more flights of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to finish out the crew rotation through the planned International Space Station lifespan. This could end up being the final missions awarded under the Commerical Crew Program, with the ISS set to retire by 2030.

After a short stay at the space station, Boeing’s OFT-2 Starliner will undock and return to Earth Wednesday. Below is how and when to watch the conclusion of, hopefully, Boeing’s final uncrewed test flight.

After years of development, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is safely docked to the ISS for its OFT-2 mission. However, it wasn’t a perfect flight.

At last, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is poised to dock with the International Space Station. It’s been a long journey, with many setbacks, but the teams seem ready for Boeing’s capsule to join the orbiting laboratory for the first time.

Yesterday, ULA launched an Atlas V rocket from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket carried Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule towards the International Space Station for an uncrewed test flight. Check out the Space Explored team’s picture gallery of OFT-2:

Boeing and its launch partner ULA successfully sent the uncrewed Starliner space to Earth orbit today. The mission, called OFT-2 (orbital flight test two), has already surpassed the status of Starliner during OFT-1 in 2019. Next up are several key events, including docking to the International Space Station and the return flight back to Earth. Here’s what you need to know:

You might be familiar with the LC-39A Observation Gantry if you’re an avid launch viewer. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began back in 2020, the visitor complex is offering tickets to view a rocket launch from there.

With the huge success of SpaceX’s six crewed launches since 2020, the casual spaceflight observer might have forgotten about Boeing‘s entry into the Commercial Crew Program. They have been quiet for a while, but Boeing has finally announced the launch date for the second try of the Starliner OFT-2 mission.

In a full week of news, NASA is looking at LC-49 for Starship launches, Parker Solar Probe touched the Sun, and more claims of sexual harassment surfaced in the industry. Catch up on last week’s news this Monday below.

The continued troubles of Boeing’s second Orbital Flight Test keep coming as the company has confirmed it will replace the service module on the OFT-2 Starliner, also stating the next available launch window is in May.

Numerous companies have filed applications to create satellite constellations in low Earth orbit. The filings come as the deadline for the FCC’s second processing round for the V-band comes tonight.

Blue Origin announced on Monday official plans to build a commercial space station named Orbit Reef.

In August, Boeing attempted to launch its second Orbital Flight Test mission to the International Space Station but was plagued by valve malfunctions. Since then, Boeing and NASA have been giving updates on where they are with returning to launch.

Since 2000 humanity has had a constant presence of individuals orbiting the Earth onboard the International Space Station. With the rise of commercial opportunities to reach for the stars, and other nations begin their crew launch programs, when is the next crewed launch?

To put it bluntly, Boeing’s attempts at an Orbital Flight Test of their CST-100 Starliner capsule have been a complete wreck. The success of Starliner is imperative so NASA will have redundant systems for access to the ISS, but a delay to 2022 is unsurprising.