Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which launched NASA crew flight test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station, is shown docking with the forward port of the Harmony module. The long-range photo was taken at night from the orbital complex flying 256 miles above the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai, India. Photo credit: NASA
engineer National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Boeing is reviewing recent engine tests to ensure the safe return of the Boeing Crewed Flight Test. At the same time, astronauts on the ISS are engaged in health and science experiments, contributing to understanding the impact of space on human physiology and materials science.
NASA and Boeing engineers are evaluating the results of last week’s engine tests at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico as the team works to plan for NASA’s Boeing crewed flight test return from the United States. International Space Station In the coming weeks.
The team completed ground-based hot-fire tests at White Sands and is working to evaluate test data and inspect the test engine. Ongoing ground analysis is expected to continue throughout this week. Using Reaction Control System thrusters built for the future Starliner spacecraft, the ground team burned the engines in in-flight conditions similar to those the spacecraft experienced on its way to the space station. The ground tests also included stress case burns, as well as those that replicated conditions that Starliner’s thrusters will experience from undocking through the deorbit burn. In the deorbit burn, thrusters burn to slow Starliner down, deorbiting it and landing in the southwestern United States.
For a detailed overview of the test plan, listen to a recording of a recent media call with NASA and Boeing leaders.
“I’m extremely proud of the NASA and Boeing teams who worked hard to execute this extremely complex series of tests,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager. “We collected a great deal of data on the thrusters that will help us better understand what’s happening during flight. Our team will next move on to disassembling and inspecting the engines, which will provide further insights as we analyze the results and evaluate next steps.”
Starliner prepares to return to Earth
The integrated ground team is also preparing for an extensive space agency flight test readiness review, which will evaluate data on the performance of the spacecraft’s propulsion system before it returns to Earth. A date for that review has yet to be confirmed.
NASA and Boeing officials are scheduled to discuss the testing and analysis efforts in detail at a press conference next week. More details about the conference will be announced soon.
NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test commander, works with the Fluid Systems Servicing Instrument, which evacuates, purges and circulates fluids on the International Space Station’s systems. Credit: NASA
Astronaut activities and research on the ISS
While tests and analyses are taking place on Earth, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Starliner’s mission commander, and mission pilot Suni Williams are working alongside the Expedition 71 crew. The two participated in vein scanning with the Ultrasound 2 device on Monday. A doctor on Earth monitored in real time as the two took turns taking pictures of each other’s neck, shoulders and legs. Wilmore then scanned the veins of fellow NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, helping researchers understand how microgravity affects the human body.
Wilmore and Dominic also spent the day inventorying the food stored on the space station, with Williams first working on research into using microgravity to produce food. Higher quality optical fiber Williams also explored using fluid physics such as surface tension to overcome the lack of gravity when watering and fertilizing plants. Plants growing in space.
