NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch, launch, and docking activities for the agencys Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station. Scheduled to launch at 6:54 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 19, OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight for Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program.
The Starliner spacecraft will launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About 31 minutes after launch, the Starliner will reach its preliminary orbit. It is scheduled to dock to the space station at 7:10 p.m. on Friday, May 20. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agencys website.
The spacecraft will carry more than 500 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies to the space station and return to Earth with nearly 600 pounds of cargo, including reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.
OFT-2 will demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket, from launch to docking to a return to Earth in the desert of the western United States. The uncrewed flight test will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeings crew transportation system for regular flights with astronauts to and from the space station.
