Boeing Starliner Completes First Orbital Flight Test with Successful Landing
December 23, 2019 | BoeingEstimated reading time: 1 minute
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner's first mission ended historically today when it became the first American orbital space capsule to land on American soil rather than in an ocean.
The spacecraft's crew module landed at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range at 5:48 a.m. Mountain time, after spending just over two days on orbit and checking off a number of flight test objectives. The last time a spacecraft landed at the historic White Sands Space Harbor runway was in 1982, when Space Shuttle Columbia touched down, ending its STS-3 mission.
Shortly after its December 20 launch and separation from its booster rocket, Starliner experienced a mission timing anomaly that made it use too much fuel to reach the intended destination of the International Space Station. Flight controllers were able to address the issue and put Starliner into a lower, stable orbit. The vehicle demonstrated key systems and capabilities before being signaled to return to Earth.
"The Starliner team's quick recovery and ability to achieve many mission objectives – including safe deorbit, re-entry and landing – is a testament to the people of Boeing who have dedicated years of their lives working toward the achievement of commercial human spaceflight," said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Boeing's Commercial Crew Program. "Their professionalism and collaboration with our NASA customer in challenging conditions allowed us to make the most of this mission."
The Starliner landing demonstrated the robustness of its landing systems, including its innovative parachutes and airbags.
Although this Starliner carried no people, it did have a passenger. An anthropometric test device, named "Rosie," was in the commander's seat for the entire mission. She was outfitted with about a dozen sensors that collected data to help prove Starliner is safe for future human crews.
Next, this crew module will be returned to Florida for data retrieval, analysis and refurbishment for future missions. It is the vehicle chosen to fly NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Josh Cassada, along with two international partner astronauts, on the first operational mission. In parallel, Boeing's Starliner team is finalizing the vehicle that will fly Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson and NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Nicole Mann on the Crewed Flight Test.
Suggested Items
Keysight, ADI Partner to Develop GMSLTM Test Methodology
10/30/2024 | BUSINESS WIREKeysight Technologies, Inc. and Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a global semiconductor leader, have collaborated to create a comprehensive test solution for Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link (GMSL2TM) devices.
Real Time with... SMTAI 2024: Koh Young's Lessons in System Integration
10/30/2024 | Real Time with...SMTAINolan Johnson speaks with Joel Scutchfield from Koh Young at this year's SMTA International convention in Rosemont. Scutchfield shares insights on data-driven factories and the dynamics of adopting new technologies and processes.
TRI to Participate at the Nordic TestForum 2024
10/25/2024 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI) will take part in the 2024 Nordic Test Forum (NTF), held at the Clarion Hotel Helsinki, Finland from November 26 - 27, 2024.
2024 IPC CEMAC China Electronics Manufacturing Annual Conference Focuses on the Electronics Industry’s Future
10/24/2024 | IPCThe 2024 IPC CEMAC China Electronics Manufacturing Annual Conference, co-organized by IPC and the Shanghai Pudong New Area Quality Technology Association, kicked off with a grand opening ceremony in Shanghai. Themed "Making Your Imagination Reality," the event has brought together leaders, technical experts, and corporate representatives from the global electronics manufacturing industry to explore future trends and opportunities.
U.S. Army Awards RTX's Raytheon TOW Contracts for $676 Million
10/24/2024 | RTXRaytheon, an RTX business, was awarded $676 million to continue manufacturing the tube-launched, optically-tracked, wireless-guided TOW® weapon system for the U.S. Army.