On May 7, 2024, Beijing time (6th Eastern Daylight Time), the "Atlas 5" N22 carrier rocket carrying the "Interstellar Flight" CFT manned spacecraft carried out a launch attempt at the SLC-41 station of the Cape Kajiao Space Force Base. After that, the ship-and-arrow assembly was transferred back to the vertical assembly test plant to replace the valves, and the launch was postponed until 06:16 Beijing time on May 18 (18:16 EST on the 17th), and the launch was further delayed due to a failure of the spacecraft.
On May 11, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) team successfully replaced the pressure regulation valve of the liquid oxygen tank on the Atlas V rocket's Centaur upper stage. At the same time, the team also carried out repressurization and system cleaning, and successfully tested the new valves.
At the same time, the Starliner team is working to address a small helium leak detected in the service module of a manned spacecraft, which originated on the flange (pipe connection) of one of the thrusters of the Reaction control system (RCS). Helium is used in spacecraft propulsion systems to enable thrusters to ignite and is non-flammable and non-toxic.
NASA and Boeing are working on a manned spacecraft test and operation solution to address the helium leak. As part of the tests, Boeing will perform flight pressurization of the propulsion system against a pre-launch procedure and then allow the helium system to naturally vent to validate existing data and strengthen the flight base. The task force also completed a thorough review of data from the May 6 launch attempt and found no additional issues. At present, the launch is aimed at 04:43 Beijing time on May 22 (16:43 EST on May 21).
左起:苏妮塔·林·威廉姆斯(Sunita Lyn Williams)、巴里· E·威尔莫尔(Barry E. Wilmore)
Due to the long delay in the launch, on May 10, the two astronauts of the "Interstellar Flight" CFT crew, Commander Barry Brown, were born to the United States. Barry E. Wilmore and pilot Sunita Lyn Williams returned to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to spend more time with their families. In a few days, the crew of two astronauts will fly to the Kennedy Space Center again to prepare for the next launch attempt.
CFT (Crew Flight Test) is the first manned flight test mission of Boeing's "Interstellar Flight" under the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The CFT mission spacecraft will carry a crew of two astronauts to the International Space Station for one week, and then the spacecraft return capsule will carry the crew of astronauts back to the desert of the southwestern United States, and the entire mission will last nearly 10 days. During this time, the astronauts will pilot the spacecraft through a series of flight tests, including manual control.
The mission was the last test flight of Starflight before it flew on NASA's crew rotation mission. Upon successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final certification of the Interstellar Flight and its systems to perform the space station crew rotation mission. Boeing's current contract includes six crew rotations, with the first mission due to be implemented as early as the first half of 2025.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou