Boeing’s cargo-laden Starliner nears departure from ISS on May 26; eyes mission completion

Starliner capsule, which was launched by Boeing Space last week under Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, is reying for its departure from International Space Station (ISS) scheduled on May 26. spacecraft successfully docked at space station on May 21, completing step which was cause of failure of its first mission in 2019. In latest mission update, NASA said that capsule will return in a couple of days for a desert landing in western United States. Recently, mission teams from both NASA and Boeing conducted rehearsals to prepare for landing that will take place in New Mexico. 

NASA prepares to air undocking

uncrewed Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously undock from space station at 12:06 am (IST) on May 26 before beginning its journey back to Earth. NASA and Boeing are targeting 4:19 am when capsule will parachute down to New Mexico desert, concluding six-day-long test flight. capsule h arrived at space station with around 362 kilograms of cargo supplies for astronauts and will return with 272 kilograms of cargo. 

White Sands Space Harbor at U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico is primary landing site. coverage for undocking will begin at 12:06 am on NASA's official website, NASA TV, NASA app and agency's official YouTube channel. 

What is OFT-2 mission?

OFT-2 mission was launched with aim to test end-to-end capabilities of Starliner from launch to docking, atmospheric re-entry, and a desert landing. This mission is Boeing's second shot at a NASA license after first one in 2019 failed because Starliner failed to dock at ISS. Boeing is one of two companies apart from SpaceX that won a NASA contract to develop spacecraft for launching cargo and crew to and from space station. While SpaceX won NASA's approval for crew-cargo launches by proving itself in 2020 through Demonstration-2 (Demo-2) mission, Boeing still doesn't have a license for such missions.