A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 objective, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Boeings Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission is counting down to a liftoff at 6:54 p.m. EDT today (May 19, 2022) to start a 24-hour journey to the International Space Station (ISS). The Expedition 67 team is focused mostly on human research and cargo operations while likewise preparing for the OFT-2 missions arrival on Friday.
Starliner will release uncrewed atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It will immediately dock to the Harmony modules forward port at 7:10 p.m. EDT on Friday where it will stay for approximately 5 days of freight and test operations. NASA TV starts live launch coverage on the NASA app and its website at 6 p.m. today.
On Wednesday, flight controllers informed the spaceport station team of the possibility of a close go by orbital debris late Thursday, May 19 and the station needing to carry out a particles avoidance maneuver. Additional tracking data got over night programs there is no longer concern for a close pass and no avoidance maneuver is needed.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen at sundown on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 objective, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the systems abilities.
NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren invested Thursday afternoon establishing hardware and software that will assist keep track of the arrival of Boeings Starliner team ship on the OFT-2 objective. Previously, he conducted a set of tests determining his cognition and hearing levels to understand microgravitys long-lasting impacts on humans.
NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins joined ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti carrying out freight operations inside the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space truck. The industrial freight craft reached the station on February 21 providing 8,300 pounds of experiments and hardware. Cygnus will depart the station in mid-June packed with trash and discarded gear for a fiery, however safe destruction above the south Pacific Ocean.
Hines and Watkins started the day collecting and stowing their blood samples for later analysis. Hines later on serviced a variety of life support and research study hardware. Watkins monitored her glucose level to understand the cardiovascular risk of living and working in area. Cristoforetti gathered air samples to show analyzing trace climatic impurities utilizing the ANITA-2 (Analyzing Interferometer for Ambient Air-2) gadget.
Station Commander Oleg Artemyev packed the docked ISS Progress 79 team ship with outdated equipment and examined its systems ahead of its departure in early June. Roscosmos Flight Engineers Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov dealt with Russian life assistance equipment and panel evaluations inside the Zvezda service module.
Starliner will launch uncrewed atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA TV starts live launch coverage on the NASA app and its website at 6 p.m. today.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen at sundown on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The objective, presently targeted for launch at 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the systems capabilities.