Starliner to Launch on NASA's Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2

Set to lift off on May 19, 2022, Starliner will launch on NASA's Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) headed for the International Space Station. OFT-2 will test end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket from launch to docking to a return to Earth in the desert of the western United States.

Starliner is expected to arrive at the space station for docking about 24 hours after launch with about 500 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies. After a successful docking, Starliner will spend five to 10 days aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth. The spacecraft will return with nearly 600 pounds of cargo, including reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.

Following a successful completion of OFT-2, NASA and Boeing will determine a launch window for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Starliner’s first flight with astronauts aboard.

This is the second uncrewed flight test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Credit: NASA