CST-100 Starliner

CST-100 Starliner

Subject: Science and Technology

Context:

The launch of Boeing’s unsrewed Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), which was supposed to lift off from the Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, has been postponed once again.

Concept:

The spacecraft that launches Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), which is called the Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) , is part of an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

CST-100 Starliner

• The Starliner, which is supposed to carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies, will take roughly 24 hours to reach the ISS, after which it will dock there.
• The spacecraft has been designed to accommodate seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo for missions to low-Earth orbit.
• The Boeing will carry up to four NASA-sponsored crew members and time-critical scientific research, for NASA service missions to the ISS.
• The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time. It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces
• The spaceflight will also help NASA to ascertain and certify the transportation system to carry astronauts to and from the space station in the future.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program

• The main objective of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
• NASA plans to lower its costs by sharing them with commercial partners such as Boeing and SpaceX, and also give the companies incentive to design and build the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS).
• Boeing and SpaceX were selected by NASA in September 2014 to develop transportation systems meant to transfer crew from the US to the ISS.
• These integrated spacecraft, rockets and associated systems will carry up to four astronauts on NASA missions, maintaining a space station crew of seven to maximize time dedicated to scientific research on the orbiting laboratory