Boeing Starliner

Boeing Starliner is an American spacecraft designed to provide crewed access to low Earth orbit, currently under development by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The vehicle consists of three main modules: a service module, a crew module, and an adapter connecting the two. The Starliner is designed to be launched on top of either an Atlas V or Delta IV rocket, and will be capable of autonomously docking with the International Space Station. Upon completion of its mission, the spacecraft will return to Earth and land on a runway like a commercial airplane.

The Starliner program was announced in September 2010 as part of Boeing’s plan to develop a “family” of space vehicles that would provide different levels of service including crewed and uncrewed missions, as well as government and commercial applications. In December 2011, NASA awarded Boeing a $460 million contract to develop the CST-100 Starliner under the Commercial Crew Development program (CCDev). In May 2012, SpaceX was also selected to develop their own crewed spacecraft, Dragon 2, under the same program.

The first uncrewed test flight ofStarliner is scheduled for 2018 atop an Atlas V rocket from launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The first crewed flight is planned for 2019 with veteran NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Nicole Mann onboard. If all goes according to schedule,Starliner will become operational in 2020 carrying up to seven astronauts per mission along with 220 lb (100 kg) of cargo.

Boeing has been contracted by NASA to provide at least twoCrew Transport Vehicles (CTV) through 2024 under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) phase of the Commercial Crew Program; these are commonly referred to as “Starliners”. Under CCtCap, each provider must demonstrate at least one complete end-to-end mission with their spacecraft before being certified by NASA for regular operations; this includes launching from American soil carrying a crew of four or more astronauts plus 200 lb (91 kg) payloads consisting primarilyof scientific experiments destined for ISS research laboratories.

In addition tot he CCTvap requirementSs,, SpaceXand Boeingsigned firm orders with United Launch Alliance (ULA) in 2015 for launches using Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines on ULA’s new Vulcan rocket.. These engines will power both Vulcan’s first stage as well as ULA’s new Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage(ACES), which is being developed specificallyfor deep space missions such as those beyond cislunar space.. BE-4 production is underway at Blue Origin’s facility in Huntsville Alabama with engine testing expectedto begin in 2017.. First flightsof Vulcan are projected no earlier than 2020…