Moscow. August 3rd. INTERFAX.RU – A repeat attempt to launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station, canceled for technical reasons, is slated for Wednesday, NASA reported.
The launch is supposed to be carried out using the Atlas 5 heavy launch vehicle of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) at 12:57 US East Coast time (at 19:57 Moscow time) from the 41st launch complex at the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome in Florida. Docking with the ISS is to take place on August 5.
On Tuesday, the launch of Boeing's Starliner as part of its second unmanned test flight to the ISS was canceled three hours before the launch. Experts found unexpected valve readings in the propulsion system during inspections after a thunderstorm near the Kennedy Space Center.
The launch of the ship in unmanned mode with the United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 heavy launch vehicle was originally slated for July 30. It was postponed to August 3, NASA explained this by problems on the ISS due to abnormal operation of the engines on the Russian module “Nauka” after docking.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner is being developed for future missions by American astronauts into orbit.
During the first test flight of the spacecraft, which was conducted on December 20, 2019, it failed to dock with the ISS. The rocket successfully brought the unmanned spacecraft to a suborbital trajectory. However, after that, a problem arose on it related to a malfunction in the system for calculating the operating time of the engines. As a result, Starliner entered an abnormal, lower orbit. The spacecraft was running out of fuel, and docking with the ISS became impossible.
He made a successful soft landing at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. This was the first landing of an American descent capsule on land. All previous American vehicles splashed down in the ocean.
Since the first test flight, Boeing and NASA have made about 80 corrective changes to the ship's systems prior to the second test flight. If successful, NASA could certify Starliner for the first test flight with astronauts on board.
As part of a contract with NASA, Boeing received more than $ 5 billion for the development, production of the Starliner spacecraft, and its missions to deliver astronauts to the ISS and return them to Earth. It is designed for a crew of up to seven people.
Another American company, SpaceX, received $ 3.1 billion under a similar contract with NASA to develop its Crew Dragon spacecraft, which has already completed a number of manned flights to the ISS.
