The crew module of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted onto its service module on Oct. 16, 2019, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the company's Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Boeing’s Structural Test Article of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft arrives at the company’s Huntington Beach, California, facilities for evaluations. Built to the specifications of an operational spacecraft, the STA is intended to be evaluated through a series of thorough testing conditions.
Recovery teams gather at the landing site of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner test article used in the spacecraft's final parachute reliability test at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, on Sept. 19, 2020. The test is part of a reliability campaign that will help strengthen the spacecraft’s landing system ahead of crewed flights to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Packed in its shipping container, the spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) arrives at the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California, on Nov. 21, 2018. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what it will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
In this illustration, a Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is shown in low-Earth orbit. NASA is partnering with Boeing and SpaceX to build a new generation of human-rated spacecraft capable of taking astronauts to the International Space Station and expanding research opportunities in orbit. Boeing's upcoming Orbital Flight Test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract with the goal of returning human spaceflight launch capabilities to the United States.
On March 11, Boeing mated the upper and lower domes of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft slated to fly in the company’s Orbital Flight Test (OFT). The mate was completed at Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Starliner uses an innovative weldless design where the main structure is made of two domes, each spin-formed and machined from a solid piece of aerospace-grade aluminum. The two domes then undergo outfitting with avionics, cooling systems, wire harnesses, fuel and life support lines, and other critical systems before being mated together. This is one of the last major milestones ahead of final processing and closeouts for flight. OFT is Boeing’s uncrewed flight test of Starliner and part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches into low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil.
NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, at left, tours Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) on Oct. 25, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will launch on its first uncrewed flight test on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Starliner is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.
NASA astronaut Suni Williams (seated), assigned to Boeing’s first operational mission aboard the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, watches as Boeing test teams outfit Starliner with hot plates and radiators ahead of the thermal vacuum test series at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
A reused drogue parachute deploys from Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner test article during the final balloon drop parachute test above White Sands, New Mexico, on Sept. 19, 2020. The test is part of a reliability campaign that will help strengthen the spacecraft’s landing system ahead of crewed flights to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
A new service module was mated to a Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew module to form a complete spacecraft on March 12, 2022, in Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for Boeing’s second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The upper and lower domes of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft 2 Crew Flight Test Vehicle were mated June 19, 2018, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starliner will launch astronauts on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Technicians at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, California position the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft inside an acoustics test chamber. This Starliner, slated to fly in Boeing’s Crew Flight Test (CFT), underwent an environmental qualification test campaign in March, experiencing rounds of acoustics vibration, thermal vacuum and electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic contamination testing. These tests prove Starliner’s design is capable of handling the harsh environments of launch, ascent and orbit and also prove that the electronics systems will operate in space and not interfere with other satellites or the International Space Station. CFT is Boeing’s crewed flight test of Starliner and part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches into low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft rolls out from the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 4, 2022. The spacecraft will make the trip to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station where it will be secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for Boeing’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to be flown on Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is seen in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 2. Part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, OFT-2 is a critical developmental milestone on the company’s path to fly crew missions for NASA.
Boeing 747 in flight
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner prepares for electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic contamination (EMI/EMC) testing in a specialized test chamber at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facilities in El Segundo, Calif. These tests were the final part of Starliner’s environmental qualification test campaign. EMI/EMC testing ensures that Starliner’s systems will function properly in the orbital radiation environment and also not interfere with other electrical systems on the International Space Station. Once back in Boeing’s Starliner facilities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this same vehicle will be prepared to fly Starliner’s first crew during the Crew Flight Test mission later this year. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
Boeing 747 in flight
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 17, 2021. Starliner will launch on the Atlas V for Boeing’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The spacecraft rolled out from Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center earlier in the day.
Commercial crew astronauts Nicole Mann, Eric Boe and Chris Ferguson recently toured Boeing’s spacecraft testing facilities in Huntington Beach, Calif. All three astronauts will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. Structural testing in Huntington Beach confirms the spacecraft can withstand the pressures it will experience during flight. Environmental qualification testing in El Segundo ensures the spacecraft can withstand the extreme environments of space.
Technicians prepare Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner for the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 2. Part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, OFT-2 is a critical developmental milestone on the company’s path to fly crew missions for NASA.
Boeing, NASA and U.S. Army teams rehearse safely bringing the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft home to Earth on Wed., June 6, 2018, at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. During the detailed landing simulation, engineers, technicians and spaceflight specialists worked through tight timelines and intense heat running through simulations of the spacecraft's landing and recovery, an operation that will cap each Starliner mission. For flight controllers at Mission Control in Houston, the simulation offered the chance to evaluate their own processes and rehearse everything from undocking the Starliner from the space station to communicating with the recovery teams in the field.
In this view looking up, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s parachutes deploy above the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico during parachute system testing on June 24, 2019. Boeing conducted the test using a full-scale Starliner test article, known as a boiler plate, designed to simulate the actual spacecraft. The test involved intentionally disabling one of the parachute system’s two drogue parachutes and one of the three main parachutes to evaluate how the remaining parachutes handled the additional loads during deployment and descent. This was one of a series of important parachute tests to validate the system is safe to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing is targeting an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the space station this summer, followed by its Crew Flight Test. Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Commercial Crew astronauts Chris Ferguson, Nicole Mann and Eric Boe recently toured spacecraft testing facilities in El Segundo and Huntington Beach, Calif. All three astronauts will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming crew flight test to the International Space Station. Environmental qualification testing in El Segundo ensures the spacecraft can withstand the extreme environments of space. Structural testing in Huntington Beach confirms the spacecraft can withstand the pressures it will experience during flight.
Engineers working with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner test the spacecraft's seat design in Mesa, Arizona, focusing on how the spacecraft seats would protect an astronaut's head, neck and spine during the 240-mile descent from the International Space Station. The company incorporated test dummies for a detailed analysis of impacts on a crew returning to earth. The human-sized dummies were equipped with sensitive instrumentation and secured in the seats for 30 drop tests at varying heights, angles, velocities and seat orientations in order to mimic actual landing conditions. High-speed cameras captured the footage for further analysis. The Starliner spacecraft is being developed in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft undergoes preparations for the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Wednesday, April 28, 2021. As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, OFT-2 is a critical developmental milestone on Boeing’s path to fly crew missions for NASA.
A full-scale Boeing CST-100 Starliner test article, known as a boiler plate, successfully lands at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico during parachute system testing on June 24, 2019. Boeing conducted the test, which involved intentionally disabling one of the parachute system’s two drogue parachutes and one of the three main parachutes to evaluate how the remaining parachutes handled the additional loads during deployment and descent. This was one of a series of important parachute tests to validate the system is safe to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing is targeting an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the space station this summer, followed by its Crew Flight Test. Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner prepares for acoustic testing at Boeing’s spacecraft test facilities in El Segundo, California. This vehicle, known as Spacecraft 2, will fly Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) after it returns to Florida from environmental testing. The Starliner underwent rounds of acoustics vibration, thermal vacuum and electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic contamination testing. These tests prove Starliner’s design is capable of handling the harsh environments of launch, ascent and orbit and also prove that the electronics systems will operate in space and not interfere with other satellites or the International Space Station. CFT is Boeing’s crewed flight test of Starliner and part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches into low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s parachute systems are successfully tested at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on June 24, 2019. Boeing conducted the test using a full-scale Starliner test article, known as a boiler plate, designed to simulate the actual spacecraft. The test involved intentionally disabling one of the parachute system’s two drogue parachutes and one of the three main parachutes to evaluate how the remaining parachutes handled the additional loads during deployment and descent. This was one of a series of important parachute tests to validate the system is safe to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing is targeting an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the space station this summer, followed by its Crew Flight Test. Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, topped by the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, stand on Space Launch Complex 41 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 4, 2019. The vehicle was in place on the launch pad for Boeing's wet dress rehearsal ahead of the upcoming Orbital Flight Test, an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Commercial crew astronauts Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson and Eric Boe recently toured Boeing’s spacecraft testing facilities in Huntington Beach and El Segundo, Calif. All three astronauts will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. Structural testing in Huntington Beach confirms the spacecraft can withstand the pressures it will experience during flight. Environmental qualification testing in El Segundo ensures the spacecraft can withstand the extreme environments of space.
A Boeing CST-100 Starliner test article prepares to mate with a high altitude balloon ahead of its final parachute reliability drop test at White Sands, New Mexico, on Sept. 19, 2020. The test is part of a reliability campaign that will help strengthen the spacecraft’s landing system ahead of crewed flights to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, topped by the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, stand on Space Launch Complex 41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 3, 2019. The vehicle was in place on the launch pad in preparation for Boeing’s wet dress rehearsal ahead of the upcoming Orbital Flight Test, an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner Orbital Flight Test vehicle will fly the first test flight to space on an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station. Here you see the spacecraft’s upper dome undergoing the final preparations before the upper and lower dome are mated for a pressure test, and then the two domes will move on to be populated with avionics, life support and other critical hardware.
On Nov. 12, 2018, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians and engineers prepare the company's CST-100 Starliner for transport to the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California. The spacecraft is destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what the spacecraft will experience during different stages of flight. The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
Engineers working with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner test the spacecraft's seat design in Mesa, Arizona, focusing on how the spacecraft seats would protect an astronaut's head, neck and spine during the 240-mile descent from the International Space Station. The company incorporated test dummies for a detailed analysis of impacts on a crew returning to earth. The human-sized dummies were equipped with sensitive instrumentation and secured in the seats for 30 drop tests at varying heights, angles, velocities and seat orientations in order to mimic actual landing conditions. High-speed cameras captured the footage for further analysis. The Starliner spacecraft is being developed in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
On Nov. 12, 2018, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians and engineers prepare Boeing's CST-100 Starliner for transport to the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California. The spacecraft is destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what the spacecraft will experience during different stages of flight. The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft rolls out from the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 21, 2019. The spacecraft will make the trip to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where it will be secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The upper and lower domes of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft 2 Crew Flight Test Vehicle were mated June 19, 2018, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starliner will launch astronauts on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA astronaut Eric Boe wears Boeing's new spacesuit designed to be worn by astronauts flying on the CST-100 Starliner. The suit is lighter and more flexible than previous spacesuits but retains the ability to pressurize in an emergency. Astronauts will wear the suit throughout the launch and ascent into orbit as well as on the way back to Earth. Starliners will launch atop Atlas V rockets from United Launch Alliance on missions including flights to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA's commercial crew astronauts Boe and Suni Williams tried on the suits at Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Boe, Williams, Bob Behnken, and Doug Hurley were selected by NASA in July 2015 to train for commercial crew test flights aboard the Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The flight assignments have not been set, so all four of the astronauts are rehearsing heavily for flights aboard both vehicles. Photo credit: Boeing
The spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) is removed from its shipping container inside the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California, on Nov. 21, 2018. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what it will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
Boeing’s Crew Flight Test Starliner prepares for thermal vacuum testing at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif. During this test series, test teams outfitted Starliner with hot plates and radiators and placed in a vacuum chamber that could also be filled with a cryogenic nitrogen shroud. This allowed Boeing teams to simulate the vacuum environment in space as well as the drastic temperature swings Starliner will see as it moves to and from direct sunlight and the Earth’s shadow. This is the Starliner that will be used for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
The upper and lower domes of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft 2 Crew Flight Test Vehicle were mated June 19, 2018, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starliner will launch astronauts on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA astronaut Eric Boe wears Boeing's new spacesuit designed to be worn by astronauts flying on the CST-100 Starliner. The suit is lighter and more flexible than previous spacesuits but retains the ability to pressurize in an emergency. Astronauts will wear the suit throughout the launch and ascent into orbit as well as on the way back to Earth. Starliners will launch atop Atlas V rockets from United Launch Alliance on missions including flights to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA's commercial crew astronauts Boe and Suni Williams tried on the suits at Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Boe, Williams, Bob Behnken, and Doug Hurley were selected by NASA in July 2015 to train for commercial crew test flights aboard the Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The flight assignments have not been set, so all four of the astronauts are rehearsing heavily for flights aboard both vehicles. Photo credit: Boeing
NASA’s Eric Boe is one of three astronauts who will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. Boe, along with fellow commercial crew astronauts Nicole Mann and Chris Ferguson, recently toured Boeing’s spacecraft testing facilities in Huntington Beach and El Segundo, Calif. Structural testing in Huntington Beach confirms the spacecraft can withstand the pressures it will experience during flight. Environmental qualification testing in El Segundo ensures the spacecraft can withstand the extreme environments of space.
Boeing model 747 flight deck (photo courtesy: National Geographic)
Commercial Crew astronauts Chris Ferguson, Nicole Mann and Eric Boe recently toured spacecraft testing facilities in El Segundo and Huntington Beach, Calif. All three astronauts will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming crew flight test to the International Space Station. Environmental qualification testing in El Segundo ensures the spacecraft can withstand the extreme environments of space. Structural testing in Huntington Beach confirms the spacecraft can withstand the pressures it will experience during flight.
Boeing model 737 TCV research cockpit
QSRA (NASA-715) takeoff and landing trials onboard the USS Kitty Hawk
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and its service module stand atop the test stand at Launch Complex 32, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, in preparation for the Pad Abort Test. Boeing’s Pad Abort Test is designed to verify that each of Starliner’s systems will function not only separately, but in concert, to protect astronauts by carrying them safely away from the launch pad in the unlikely event of an emergency prior to liftoff. This will be Boeing’s first flight test as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The Pad Abort Test is scheduled for Nov. 4, 2019.
Boeing’s Structural Test Article of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is readied inside the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Built to the specifications of an operational spacecraft, the STA is intended to be evaluated through a series of thorough testing conditions at facilities in Huntington Beach, California.
Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson takes a selfie during a recent tour of spacecraft testing facilities in southern California. Ferguson, along with NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Eric Boe, will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming crew flight test to the International Space Station. During trips to El Segundo and Huntington Beach, the astronauts met with employees who conduct the structural and environmental testing on the spacecraft built to return human spaceflight launch capability to the U.S.
Boeing’s Crew Flight Test Starliner prepares for thermal vacuum testing at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif. During this test series, test teams outfitted Starliner with hot plates and radiators and placed in a vacuum chamber that could also be filled with a cryogenic nitrogen shroud. This allowed Boeing teams to simulate the vacuum environment in space as well as the drastic temperature swings Starliner will see as it moves to and from direct sunlight and the Earth’s shadow. This is the Starliner that will be used for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
This graphic details ascent operations for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2). OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
An engineer monitors a Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft inside Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first time "Spacecraft 1," as the individual Starliner is known, was powered up. It is being assembled for use during a pad abort test that will demonstrate the Starliners' ability to lift astronauts out of danger in the unlikely event of an emergency. Later flight tests will demonstrate Starliners in orbital missions to the station without a crew, and then with astronauts aboard. The flight tests will preview the crew rotation missions future Starliners will perform as they take up to four astronauts at a time to the orbiting laboratory in order to enhance the research taking place there
Boeing, NASA and U.S. Army teams rehearse safely bringing the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft home to Earth on Wed., June 6, 2018, at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. During the detailed landing simulation, engineers, technicians and spaceflight specialists worked through tight timelines and intense heat running through simulations of the spacecraft's landing and recovery, an operation that will cap each Starliner mission. For flight controllers at Mission Control in Houston, the simulation offered the chance to evaluate their own processes and rehearse everything from undocking the Starliner from the space station to communicating with the recovery teams in the field.
The Boeing extrication team train on the Boeing Mock-up Trainer from May 25 through May 28, 2018, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The extrication team is comprised of firefighters from various U.S. Boeing sites. Each member of the team brings an expertise in Aerospace Confined Space Rescue, are Emergency Medical Technicians and have years of rescue experience. The team is highly motivated to getting the crew out quickly, safely and efficiently. The training at Johnson included suit training, side hatch egress, and Intravehicular Activity (IVA) rigging and egress. The week included a run for record on IVA egress for a testing requirement. Participants also included NASA Medical, the 45th Operations Group's Detachment 3, based at Patrick Air Force Base, and U.S. Air Force pararescue representation.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test vehicle will be the second to go to space, and the first to fly crew on a test flight to the International Space Station. In this picture, the upper dome is actually mated to the lower dome, but only electronically. The Boeing team is making sure all the hardware and software in the two pieces are working together correctly, before they will be put together for a final time. Then, the interior of the spacecraft will be outfitted and the outside will be covered with thermal protection.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, topped by the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, stand on Space Launch Complex 41 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 4, 2019. The vehicle was in place on the launch pad for Boeing's wet dress rehearsal ahead of the upcoming Orbital Flight Test, an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson takes a selfie during a recent tour of spacecraft testing facilities in southern California. Ferguson, along with NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Eric Boe, will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. During trips to Huntington Beach and El Segundo, the astronauts met with employees who conduct the structural and environmental testing on the spacecraft built to return human spaceflight launch capability to the U.S.
This graphic details docking operations for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2). OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
On Nov. 12, 2018, the crated spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) departs the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for transport to the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what the spacecraft will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, topped by the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, stand on Space Launch Complex 41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 3, 2019. The vehicle was in place on the launch pad in preparation for Boeing’s wet dress rehearsal ahead of the upcoming Orbital Flight Test, an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Engineers work with the solar array for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft at Spectrolab in Sylmar, California. The solar arrays will power the Starliner as it flies through space and while it is docked to the International Space Station. Photo credit: Boeing
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is lifted into a test chamber at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif. There, Boeing engineers conducted different environmental qualification test programs, proving the vehicle is capable of withstanding the harsh environments it will see during launch, ascent and orbit. This is the Starliner that will be used for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s parachute systems successfully completed a “lawn dart” test at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in February. The test involved dropping the dart from a C-17 aircraft. This reliability test was part of a special studies program NASA initiated to validate the robust design of Starliner’s parachute systems, and is an important milestone in proving the systems are ready to safely land Starliner. NASA and Boeing are preparing for the company’s uncrewed and crewed flight tests of Starliner as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches into low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil.
NASA astronaut Suni Williams wears Boeing's new spacesuit designed to be worn by astronauts flying on the CST-100 Starliner. The suit is lighter and more flexible than previous spacesuits but retains the ability to pressurize in an emergency. Astronauts will wear the suit throughout the launch and ascent into orbit as well as on the way back to Earth. Starliners will launch atop Atlas V rockets from United Launch Alliance on missions including flights to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA's commercial crew astronauts Eric Boe and Williams tried on the suits at Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Boe, Williams, Bob Behnken, and Doug Hurley were selected by NASA in July 2015 to train for commercial crew test flights aboard the Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The flight assignments have not been set, so all four of the astronauts are rehearsing heavily for flights aboard both vehicles. Photo credit: Boeing
Packed in its shipping container, the spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) arrives at the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California, on Nov. 21, 2018. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what it will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
The Boeing extrication team train on the Boeing Mock-up Trainer from May 25 through May 28, 2018, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The extrication team is comprised of firefighters from various U.S. Boeing sites. Each member of the team brings an expertise in Aerospace Confined Space Rescue, are Emergency Medical Technicians and have years of rescue experience. The team is highly motivated to getting the crew out quickly, safely and efficiently. The training at Johnson included suit training, side hatch egress, and Intravehicular Activity (IVA) rigging and egress. The week included a run for record on IVA egress for a testing requirement. Participants also included NASA Medical, the 45th Operations Group's Detachment 3, based at Patrick Air Force Base, and U.S. Air Force pararescue representation.
DeHavilland QSRA (Quite Short Haul Research Aircraft) cockpit layout drawing
Packed in its shipping container, the spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) arrives at the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California, on Nov. 21, 2018. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what it will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
This graphic details landing operations for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2). OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 11, 2018, the spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) is crated in preparation for transport to the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what the spacecraft will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson helps NASA astronauts Nicole Mann (left) and Mike Fincke (right) train for a spacewalk inside the International Space Station Airlock Mockup at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in February. Mann, Ferguson and Fincke are assigned to Boeing’s Crew Flight Test, Starliner’s first flight with crew as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will restore human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
QSRA (NASA-715) takeoff and landing trials onboard the USS Kitty Hawk
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner undergoes weight and center of gravity checks in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 13, 2021. The operations are in preparation for the company’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2), as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
On March 15, the base heat shield for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner was freshly installed on the bottom of Spacecraft 1 in the High Bay of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. This is the spacecraft that will fly during the Pad Abort Test. The next step involves installation of the back shells and forward heat shield, and then the crew module will be mated to the service module for a fit check. Finally, the vehicle will head out to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for testing.
The spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) is inspected following removal from its shipping container inside the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California, on Nov. 21, 2018. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what it will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
Boeing astronaut and CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test crew member Chris Ferguson trains for a contingency water landing in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Starliner is designed to land on land, but it can also abort to safe water landings if needed. For safety, all Starliner crews will prepare for all possible scenarios, however unlikely. Boeing’s Crew Flight Test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
The spacecraft destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) is seen Inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 12, 2018. It is surrounded by protective wrapping in preparation for transport to Boeing's testing facilities in El Segundo, California. The company's CST-100 Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what the spacecraft will experience during different stages of flight as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
Boeing CST-100 Starliner’s forward heat shield jettisons from a test article during the vehicle’s final balloon drop parachute test at White Sands, New Mexico, on Sept 19, 2020. The test is part of a reliability campaign that will help strengthen the spacecraft’s landing system ahead of crewed flights to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Engineers working with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner test the spacecraft's seat design in Mesa, Arizona, focusing on how the spacecraft seats would protect an astronaut's head, neck and spine during the 240-mile descent from the International Space Station. The company incorporated test dummies for a detailed analysis of impacts on a crew returning to earth. The human-sized dummies were equipped with sensitive instrumentation and secured in the seats for 30 drop tests at varying heights, angles, velocities and seat orientations in order to mimic actual landing conditions. High-speed cameras captured the footage for further analysis. The Starliner spacecraft is being developed in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Boeing’s CST-100 Pad Abort Test Vehicle is almost ready to head to White Sands, New Mexico, to test the launch abort engines. During that test, the four abort engines will prove that the vehicle can safely perform an abort maneuver in the event of an emergency on the launchpad or during flight. The vehicle is mated to the service module for a fit check, and then the two will be taken apart for final preparations before heading to the desert.
NASA astronaut Eric Boe, one of four astronauts working with the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, had the opportunity to check out the Crew Access Tower at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) Wednesday with a United Launch Alliance Atlas V on the pad. Boe, along with launch operations engineers from NASA, Boeing, and ULA, climbed the launch pad tower to evaluate lighting and spotlights after dark. The survey helped ensure crew members will have acceptable visibility as they prepare to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on the Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station targeted for later this year.
Commercial crew astronauts Eric Boe, Chris Ferguson and Nicole Mann recently toured Boeing’s spacecraft testing facilities in Huntington Beach and El Segundo, Calif. All three astronauts will fly on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in an upcoming Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. Structural testing in Huntington Beach confirms the spacecraft can withstand the pressures it will experience during flight. Environmental qualification testing in El Segundo ensures the spacecraft can withstand the extreme environments of space.
Boeing’s Structural Test Article of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is moved out of the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on its way to Huntington Beach, California, for evaluations. Built to the specifications of an operational spacecraft, the STA is intended to be evaluated through a series of thorough testing conditions.
On July 13, 2021, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft moved from Hazardous Processing Area to the Weight and Center of Gravity machine and then transferred to the KMAG. The operations are in preparation for the company’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2), as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
A heat shield is used during separation test activities with Boeing's Starliner structural test article. The test article is undergoing rigorous qualification testing at the company's Huntington Beach Facility in California. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will launch on the Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, engineers and technicians place NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft to an Atlas V payload adaptor in preparation for launch. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System TDRSS fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. TDRS-L has a high-performance solar panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet the growing S-band communications requirements. TDRSS is one of NASA Space Communication and Navigation’s SCaN three networks providing space communications to NASA’s missions. For more information more about TDRS-L, visit: http:__www.nasa.gov_tdrs To learn more about SCaN, visit: www.nasa.gov_scan Photo credit: Boeing
NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, center, tours Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) on Oct. 25, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will launch on its first uncrewed flight test on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Starliner is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, engineers and technicians use a crane to move NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft to an Atlas V payload adaptor in preparation for launch. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System TDRSS fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. TDRS-L has a high-performance solar panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet the growing S-band communications requirements. TDRSS is one of NASA Space Communication and Navigation’s SCaN three networks providing space communications to NASA’s missions. For more information more about TDRS-L, visit: http:__www.nasa.gov_tdrs To learn more about SCaN, visit: www.nasa.gov_scan Photo credit: Boeing
This artist concept shows a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with a Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Starliner/Atlas V system is under development by Boeing and ULA in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to launch astronauts to the International Space Station.
The solar arrays for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft are seen at Spectrolab in Sylmar, California. The solar arrays will power the Starliner as it flies through space and while it is docked to the International Space Station. Photo credit: Boeing
A Starliner structural test article at Boeing's Huntington Beach Facility in California, where the spacecraft, including the service module and other hardware of the Atlas V upper stage, are undergoing rigorous qualification testing, including tests like shock, separation and vibration. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will launch on the Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
On Nov. 12, 2018, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians and engineers prepare the company's CST-100 Starliner for transport to the company's testing facilities in El Segundo, California. The spacecraft is destined to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT) as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The Starliner will be undergoing a series of environmental tests designed to simulate what the spacecraft will experience during different stages of flight. The agency's CCP will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit on systems that meet our safety and mission requirements.
Boeing’s Crew Flight Test CST-100 Starliner prepares for thermal vacuum testing at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif. During this test series, test teams outfitted Starliner with hot plates and radiators and placed in a vacuum chamber that could also be filled with a cryogenic nitrogen shroud. This allowed Boeing teams to simulate the vacuum environment in space as well as the drastic temperature swings Starliner will see as it moves to and from direct sunlight and the Earth’s shadow. This is the Starliner that will be used for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.
A new service module was mated to a Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew module to form a complete spacecraft on March 12, 2022, in Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for Boeing’s second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s parachute systems are successfully tested at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on June 24, 2019. Boeing conducted the test using a full-scale Starliner test article, known as a boiler plate, designed to simulate the actual spacecraft. The test involved intentionally disabling one of the parachute system’s two drogue parachutes and one of the three main parachutes to evaluate how the remaining parachutes handled the additional loads during deployment and descent. This was one of a series of important parachute tests to validate the system is safe to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing is targeting an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the space station this summer, followed by its Crew Flight Test. Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Starliner technicians work on the Orbital Flight Test-2 spacecraft in the high bay of Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 13, 2022.
Illustration of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlast V rocket at Space Launch Complex 41, in preparation for Boeing's Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
The parachute deployment is seen from the top hatch of a boilerplate CST-100 Starliner during a drop test of the Starliner's parachute system. Boeing, which is building the Starliner, conducted the test in White Sands, New Mexico, as part of the testing campaign for certification by NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Photo credit: Boeing