Monday, March 18, 2024
The CST-100's First Mission with Astronauts Aboard Remains on Track for a Launch This May...
Boeing / John Grant
Fueling Begins for the Starliner Crew Flight Test (News Release)
Loading the spacecraft with propellant is the next milestone on the path to launch.
Spacecraft fueling has begun for the upcoming Crew Flight Test (CFT) as the Starliner team prepares to send its first crew to the International Space Station.
The Starliner spacecraft, consisting of a reusable crew and expendable service module, was recently moved into the Hazardous Processing Area at Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Fueling the spacecraft will take a little more than two weeks.
Conducting the propellant-loading operation is a team made up of specially-trained technicians, as well as fluids, propellant and electrical test engineers. To perform the operation, technicians wear what’s called a SCAPE suit.
SCAPE stands for Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble and the suit protects them from any hazardous commodities. Throughout the operation, test teammates monitor the spacecraft, including sensors and valves, as well as the environment within the C3PF.
Following fueling, final closeout activities will be performed for the spacecraft’s rollout from the factory to United Launch Alliance’s Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Closeout activities include removing propellant access panels, placing environmental covers over the spacecraft’s thrust nozzle outlets, performing thermal protection system work, checking the spacecraft’s final weight and center of gravity, and loading it onto the transport vehicle.
Source: StarlinerUpdates.com
Friday, March 15, 2024
Development Continues on Future Hardware for the Space Launch System's Block 1B Variant...
NASA / Sam Lott
Evolved Adapter for Future NASA SLS Flights Readied for Testing (News Release - March 13)
A test version of the universal stage adapter for NASA’s more powerful version of its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket arrived to Building 4619 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on February 22 from Leidos in Decatur, Alabama. The universal stage adapter will connect the rocket’s upgraded in-space propulsion stage, called the Exploration Upper Stage, to NASA’s Orion spacecraft as part of the evolved Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket.
The universal stage adapter will also serve as a compartment capable of accommodating large payloads, such as modules or other exploration spacecraft. The SLS Block 1B variant will debut on Artemis IV and will increase SLS’s payload capability to send more than 84,000 pounds to the Moon in a single launch.
In Building 4619’s Load Test Annex High Bay at Marshall, the development test article will first undergo modal testing that will shake the hardware to validate dynamic models. Later, during ultimate load testing, force will be applied vertically and to the sides of the hardware.
Unlike the flight hardware, the development test article has flaws intentionally included in its design, which will help engineers verify that the adapter can withstand the extreme forces it will face during launch and flight. The test article joins an already-rich history of rocket hardware that has undergone high-and-low pressure, acoustic and extreme temperature testing in the multipurpose, high-bay test facility; it will be tested in the same location that once bent, compressed and torqued the core stage intertank test article for the SLS rocket’s Block 1 configuration.
Leidos, the prime contractor for the universal stage adapter, manufactured the full-scale prototype at its Aerospace Structures Complex in Decatur.
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generational spacesuits and rovers on the lunar surface.
SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
Source: NASA.Gov
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Thursday, March 14, 2024
Starship Has Reached Orbit for the First Time!
SpaceX
NASA Artemis Mission Progresses with SpaceX Starship Test Flight (News Release)
As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon for the benefit of all, the agency is working with SpaceX to develop the company’s Starship human landing system (HLS), which will land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole during the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions. On March 14, SpaceX launched the third integrated flight test of its Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, an important milestone towards providing NASA with a Starship HLS for its Artemis missions.
A complement of 33 Raptor engines, fueled by super-cooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen, powered the Super Heavy booster with Starship stacked on top, from the company’s Starbase orbital launch pad at 8:25 a.m. CDT. Starship, using six Raptor engines, separated from the Super Heavy booster employing a hot-staging technique to fire the engines before separation at approximately three minutes into the flight, in accordance with the flight plan.
This was the third flight test of the integrated Super Heavy-Starship system.
“With each flight test, SpaceX attempts increasingly-ambitious objectives for Starship to learn as much as possible for future mission systems development. The ability to test key systems and processes in flight scenarios like these integrated tests allows both NASA and SpaceX to gather crucial data needed for the continued development of Starship HLS,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS Program Manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
This test accomplished several important firsts that will contribute to the development of Starship for Artemis lunar landing missions. The spacecraft reached its expected orbit and Starship completed the full-duration ascent burn.
One objective closely tied to future Artemis operations is the transfer of thousands of pounds of cryogenic propellant between internal tanks during the spacecraft’s coast phase as part of NASA’s Space Technology Missions Directorate 2020 Tipping Point awards. The propellant transfer demonstration operations were completed, and the NASA-SpaceX team is currently reviewing the flight data that was received.
This Tipping Point technology demonstration is one of more than 20 development activities that NASA is undertaking to solve the challenges of using cryogenic fluids during future missions.
As a key step towards understanding how super-cooled propellant sloshes within the tanks when the engines shut down, and how that movement affects Starship’s stability while in orbit, engineers will study flight test data to assess the performance of thrusters that control Starship’s orientation in space. They are also interested to learn more about how the fluid’s movement within the tanks can be settled to maximize propellant transfer efficiency and ensure that Raptor engines receive needed propellant conditions to support restart in orbit.
“Storing and transferring cryogenic propellant in orbit has never been attempted on this scale before,” said Jeremy Kenny, project manager, NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio at Marshall. “But this is a game-changing technology that must be developed and matured for science and exploration missions at the Moon, Mars and those that will venture even deeper into our solar system.”
Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface and prepare for human expeditions to Mars. Commercial human landing systems are critical to deep space exploration, along with the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, exploration ground systems and the Gateway space station.
Source: NASA.Gov
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Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Starship Is Ready to Launch as Early as Tomorrow (But Not Towards Hawaii as Originally Planned)...
SpaceX
FAA Statement on SpaceX OFT-3 License Modification Approval (News Release)
The FAA is authorizing the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Orbital Flight Test 3 (OFT-3) launch. The FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements.
As part of the license modification evaluation, the FAA prepared a Tiered Environmental Assessment for SpaceX Starship Indian Ocean Landings and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision.
The license applies to all phases of the proposed OFT-3 operation. This includes preflight preparations and liftoff from Texas, the water landing of the Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico, and the water landing of the Starship vehicle in the Indian Ocean.
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The FAA has granted license authorization for the third launch of the @SpaceX Starship Super Heavy vehicle. The FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements. Learn more at https://t.co/EkZUsgWYNm. #FAASpace
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) March 13, 2024
Targeting Thursday, March 14 for Starship’s third flight test. A 110-minute launch window opens at 7:00 a.m. CT → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/hFq1L4w9et
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 13, 2024
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Four Astronauts Complete a 199-Day Expedition As Their Endurance Capsule Lands in the Gulf of Mexico...
Splashdown! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Finishes Mission, Returns to Earth (News Release)
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 completed the agency’s seventh commercial crew-rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday after splashing down safely in a Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. The international crew of four spent 199 days in orbit.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, returned to Earth splashing down at 5:47 a.m. EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew.
After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 has safely returned home,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This international crew showed that space unites us all. It’s clear that we can do more – we can learn more – when we work together. The science experiments conducted during their time in space will help prepare for NASA’s bold missions at the Moon, Mars and beyond, all while benefitting humanity here on Earth.”
The Crew-7 mission lifted off at 3:27 a.m. on August 26, 2023, on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About 30 hours later, Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port.
Crew-7 undocked at 11:20 a.m. on Monday, March 11, to begin the trip home.
Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa and Borisov traveled 84,434,094 miles during their mission, spent 197 days aboard the space station, and completed 3,184 orbits around Earth. The Crew-7 mission was the first spaceflight for Moghbeli and Borisov.
Mogensen has logged 209 days in space over his two flights, and Furukawa has logged 366 days in space over his two flights.
Throughout their mission, the Crew-7 members contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Moghbeli conducted one spacewalk, joined by NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, replacing one of the 12 trundle-bearing assemblies on the port solar alpha rotary joint, which allows the arrays to track the Sun and generate electricity to power the station.
The crew contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, including the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations, and an experiment growing food on the space station.
This was the third flight of the Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance. It also previously supported the Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions.
The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s refurbishing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where teams will inspect the Dragon, analyze data on its performance, and process it for its next flight.
The Crew-7 flight is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and its return to Earth follows on the heels of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 launch, which docked to the station on March 5, beginning another science expedition.
The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. This is already providing additional research time and has increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Source: NASA.Gov
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NASA / Joel Kowsky
Friday, March 8, 2024
America's Newest ISS-Bound Freighter Moves One Step Closer to Its First Launch...
Sierra Space
Sierra Space Dream Chaser® Spaceplane Successfully Completes First Phase of Pre-Flight Testing (Press Release - March 7)
LOUISVILLE, Colo. – Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and emerging defense tech prime building a platform in space to benefit and protect life on Earth, announced today the successful completion of the initial phase of environmental testing on the revolutionary Dream Chaser® spaceplane, Tenacity®, at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio.
Over the past month, the Sierra Space Dream Chaser and its cargo companion, Shooting Star™, underwent rigorous vibration testing while stacked in launch configuration inside the Mechanical Vibration Facility at the NASA complex. In readiness for launch from Kennedy Space Center, the tests exposed the vehicles to the intense conditions of launch vibrations using the world’s most powerful spacecraft shaker table.
See video about the vibration testing here.
“We are coming out of years of development, years of hard work and years of resolving tough engineering challenges that come from revolutionary new ways of doing things,” said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. “This phase of development illustrates how Dream Chaser and the Shooting Star cargo module will handle the mechanical rigors of launch. This is the year that we transition from development and enter orbital operations – it is the year that changes how we connect space and Earth.”
“Completion of vibration testing of the vehicles in the launch configuration is a huge milestone for Sierra Space and the Dream Chaser program,” said Jake Ingram, Director of Programs for Dream Chaser DC-100. “We successfully applied the environment specified by the launch provider, validated primary-structure modal responses and verified vehicle functionality before and after the vibration test sequence.”
Key accomplishments in this first critical phase of pre-flight testing included: the completion of Sine Vibration Testing (in all three axes or directions), a Separation Shock Test that simulates the separation of the Dream Chaser from Shooting Star and a test that involved deploying the spaceplane’s wings. These tests evaluated Dream Chaser’s performance under the stresses of launch, operation in orbit and ability to communicate with the International Space Station (ISS).
Joint Test #3, a critical phase in the testing process, represented an integrated assessment of the completed system in a flight-like configuration. After its ride to space atop United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, Dream Chaser separates from the rocket fairing, deploys its wings from a folded position and flies semi-autonomously to the International Space Station.
Joint Test #3 was a comprehensive evaluation focused on the software interface between the vehicle and the ISS to ensure the seamless functionality of the command and data handling.
Following these critical test phases, the Shooting Star cargo module was de-mated from Dream Chaser and transported from the Armstrong Test Facility’s Space Environments Complex (SEC) to the nearby In-Space Propulsion (ISP) facility. Soon, Dream Chaser will be transported to the ISP facility to join the cargo module, where the two spacecraft will begin thermal vacuum testing, a crucial step in the journey towards the launch pad and another milestone in Sierra Space’s mission to redefine the future of space commercialization.
Source: Sierra Space
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Sierra Space
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Hot Fire #9 Is Now Complete in the Final Round of Testing for the Next-Generation SLS Engine...
NASA / Danny Nowlin
NASA Continues Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Test Series (News Release - March 6)
NASA conducted a full-duration RS-25 engine hot fire on March 6, continuing a final round of certification testing for production of new engines to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The full-duration test on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, marked the ninth in a scheduled 12-test series.
Engineers are collecting test data to certify an updated engine production process, using innovative manufacturing techniques, for lead engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. During the March 6 test, operators fired the certification engine for 10 minutes (600 seconds), longer than the amount of time needed to help launch the SLS rocket and send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft into orbit.
The test team also fired the engine at power levels between 80% and 113% to test performance in multiple scenarios. Four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, launch NASA’s powerful SLS rocket, producing more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff for Artemis missions.
Through Artemis, NASA will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color and first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all. RS-25 tests at NASA Stennis are conducted by a diverse team of operators from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for site facilities and operations.
Source: NASA.Gov
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Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Sign Up Now to Become a Future Explorer Flying to a Commercial Space Station or the Moon!
NASA
NASA Opens Astronaut Applications as Newest Class Graduates (Press Release - March 5)
NASA welcomed its newest class of next-generation Artemis astronauts in a Tuesday ceremony at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The 10-astronaut graduates are now eligible for flight assignments.
The agency also announced the opening for the next round of NASA astronaut applications.
“Congratulations to the newest class of NASA astronauts! We are excited to have a new and diverse set of explorers ready to expand humanity’s reach,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Astronauts are pioneers who will help us embark on this new era of exploration, and we need more adventurers ready to join the ranks to explore the cosmos, including future missions to the Moon, onto Mars, and beyond.”
Selected for training in 2021, the astronaut graduates were chosen from a pool of more than 12,000 applicants and successfully completed more than two years of required basic training, including spacewalking, robotics, space station systems and more.
The graduates may be assigned to missions destined for the International Space Station, future commercial space stations and Artemis campaign missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars.
“Congratulations to NASA and the astronaut graduates,” said U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kiran Ahuja. “By partnering with OPM, NASA employed an automated and streamlined hiring process to screen applicants for these prestigious roles. OPM is thrilled to continue supporting NASA experts to design and implement their hiring methods.”
“It’s an incredible time to be an astronaut with a variety of spacecraft to fly and more destinations to explore,” said Chief Astronaut Joe Acaba. “I’m honored to welcome these astronauts, congratulate them on their hard work, and look forward to growing our ranks as we help expand humanity’s reach into the solar system.”
The graduating NASA astronauts are Nichole Ayers of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Marcos BerrÃos of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; Chris Birch of Gilbert, Arizona; Deniz Bunham of Wasilla, Alaska; Luke Delaney of Debary, Florida; Andre Douglas of Chesapeake, Virginia; Jack Hathaway of South Windsor, Connecticut; Anil Menon of Minneapolis; Chris Williams of Potomac, Maryland, and Jessica Wittner of Clovis, California.
Continuing the long tradition of international partnership, two UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronauts, Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre, trained alongside their NASA counterparts for the past two years, as well as participated in the graduation ceremony.
This is one part of the partnership between NASA and UAE, including cooperation on the International Space Station, NASA's Artemis missions through the Gateway lunar space station, and other activities on Earth and in space that are supporting groundbreaking science and research.
To apply to become a NASA astronaut, applicants should go to:
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/779261100
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Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Endeavour Has Arrived at the ISS...
NASA
Expedition 70 Welcomes Four New Crewmates, Quickly Gets to Work (News Release)
11 crew members now reside aboard the International Space Station following the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission early Tuesday morning. The four new Crew-8 members will spend the next few days getting used to life on orbit as four Expedition 70 crewmates pack up for their return to Earth.
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the forward port of the orbital outpost’s Harmony module at 2:28 a.m. EST on Tuesday. About an hour-and-a-half later, Crew-8 Commander Matthew Dominick, Pilot Mike Barratt, and Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin opened Dragon’s hatch and entered Harmony - officially becoming station flight engineers.
Soon after, the new quartet, with the Expedition 70 septet, called down to Earth for welcome remarks.
Afterwards, the entire crew quickly got to work - first conducting a safety briefing, then unpacking new science and supplies, conducting health checks, and more. The crewmates transferred Dragon freezers containing research samples and installed them into science racks throughout the station.
Tuesday’s health studies included testing the inner-ear balance system, conducting eye scans with an ultrasound device, and evaluating a specialized suit’s ability to help a crew member readjust to Earth’s gravity.
The foursome will live aboard the space station for a six-month space research mission. They will take advantage of the microgravity environment to explore the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative disorders, how spaceflight affects plant growth to sustain crews, countering space-caused fluid shifts that create head and eye pressure in astronauts, and the potential for algae to improve spacecraft life support systems.
While Crew-8 gets up to speed with space station systems, four Expedition 70 crewmates are nearing their departure after a six-and-a-half-month mission on orbit. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli will lead Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency), Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos back to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft.
The homebound quartet has been aboard the station since August 27, 2023, and is expected to undock from Harmony’s space-facing port no earlier than Monday, March 11.
The station’s other three crewmates, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, have been aboard the station since September 15, when they docked to the Rassvet module inside the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship. O'Hara is due to return to Earth in April while Kononenko and Chub will stay in space for a few more months.
Source: NASA.Gov
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NASA TV
Monday, March 4, 2024
Preps Continue at Cape Canaveral for Starliner's First Crewed Flight to the ISS Next Month...
United Launch Alliance
CFT: Atlas V Primed for Its First Human Space Launch (News Release)
Bridging the history of Atlas from the legacy of Project Mercury with today's United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V, preparations are underway for the modern-day rocket to launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft with two NASA astronauts on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station.
The first orbital spaceflights of American astronauts in the 1960s were launched by Atlas rockets from Cape Canaveral on the Mercury missions at the dawn of the space program. That heritage continues with Atlas V launching Boeing's Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program to safely and reliably transport astronauts to low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil.
CFT will pave the way for NASA's certification of Boeing's astronaut transportation system to perform long-duration missions to the space station, giving the U.S. two unique human transportation systems that provide redundancy for station access.
Launch of this flight test with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams is targeted for late-April from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Atlas V will launch Starliner on its journey to rendezvous and dock with the space station, where the two astronauts will live and work for about one to two weeks before undocking and returning to Earth to land at a site in the Western U.S.
Wilmore and Williams, both Naval aviators, military test pilots and former commanders of the space station, have worked closely with Boeing and ULA to develop the Starliner spacecraft and the new features of the Atlas V required to carry humans safely.
Atlas V successfully launched two uncrewed Starliner missions in December 2019 and May 2022.The unique Atlas configuration for Starliner, known as the Atlas V N22, includes a Dual Engine Centaur upper stage to deliver the performance needed to shape the trajectory for crew safety; a Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) that structurally attaches the Starliner to the Atlas V rocket for ascent; a 70-inch-long (1.8-meter) aeroskirt to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics, stability and loads of the Atlas V; and an Emergency Detection System (EDS) that provides an extra layer of safety for astronauts riding the reliable Atlas V.
ULA's work for the CFT mission began in the sprawling Decatur, Alabama, factory where the rocket was built and then loaded onto the R/S RocketShip vessel that traversed rivers and the open-ocean to deliver the Atlas and Centaur stages to Cape Canaveral.
On February 21, the first stage was brought to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF), located adjacent to the SLC-41 launch pad, to be hoisted upright and positioned on the Mobile Launch Platform. The operation, called Launch Vehicle on Stand (LVOS), officially kicked off the launch site campaign.
Twin AJ-60 solid rocket boosters (SRBs) were added to the north and south sides of the Atlas V rocket in subsequent days.
The pre-assembled interstage, Dual Engine Centaur and LVA were stacked atop the rocket on February 28 to finish the initial buildup of this Atlas V, designated AV-085, for ULA's first human space launch.
Testing of the rocket and connections with ground systems will be performed before Starliner is delivered from its Kennedy Space Center processing facility to the VIF for attachment to the rocket in early April.
This will be the 100th launch by an Atlas V, the sixth in support of the space station and third for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Atlas V has demonstrated unmatched reliability spanning more than 20 years, successfully launching scientific spacecraft to Mars on five different occasions, plus research investigations to the Sun, the Moon, Jupiter, the asteroid Bennu and Pluto -- all with bulls-eye trajectories every time.
The rocket's versatility has also delivered dozens of U.S. national security assets into space, launched weather observatories that all Americans depend upon and deployed commercial satellites to connect the world.
Source: United Launch Alliance
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