NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch, launch, and docking activities for the agencys Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station. OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight for Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. The mission is targeted to launch at 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3
Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About 30 minutes after launch, Starliner will perform its orbital insertion burn to begin its daylong trip to the space station. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock to the space station at 1:37 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4. Launch and docking coverage will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agencys website.
The spacecraft will carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies to the space station. It will return to Earth with more than 550 pounds of cargo, including the reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.
OFT-2 will demonstrate the end-to-endcapabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket, from launch, todocking, to a return to Earth with a desert landing in the western United States. The uncrewed mission will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeings crew transportation system for regular flights to and from the space station.
