Two astronauts have been assigned to the first crewed trip of NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station (ISS), where they will live and work for about two weeks.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams, left, Barry "Butch" Wilmore, center, and Mike Fincke, right, watch as a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Who Are These Astronauts?
CFT will aboard NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams. The mission will be commanded by Wilmore, with Williams serving as the pilot.Space.com
A short duration flight with two astronaut test pilots is sufficient to satisfy all NASA and Boeing test objectives for CFT, based on current space station resources and schedule needs, NASA said in a statement.
There Are Backup Astronauts
NASA may extend the CFT docked period up to six months to defend against unanticipated events with crew transit to the station. The space agency said that if necessary, an astronaut might be added later.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, who was originally assigned as CFT's Joint Operations Commander, will now train as a backup spacecraft test pilot and will remain eligible for future missions.
Jeanette Epps, a NASA astronaut, is preparing for a long-duration mission onboard Starliner-1. For additional scheduling and resource flexibility, NASA has found backup travel opportunities for Epps on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
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What Are NASA's Preparations for the Mission?
"It was great to see Starliner's successful journey to the International Space Station during the Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission last month," Reid Wiseman, chief, Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston added. "We are all looking forward to cheering on Butch and Suni as they fly the first crewed Starliner mission."
OFT-2 was an uncrewed shakeout mission to the orbital lab that took off on May 19 and landed on May 25. Although NASA and Boeing are now analyzing OFT-2 data to see what adjustments or enhancements, if any, will be required before Wilmore and Williams may board Starliner, the success of that mission looks to have prepared the way for CFT, Space.com reported.
Those data audits are expected to last at least another month. NASA officials indicated that they expect to complete a launch schedule review for CFT by the end of July.
When Is the Launch of Boeing Starliner's First Crewed Mission?
The test mission will launch off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. CFT is intended to last two weeks, however that and other mission parameters are subject to change; NASA might extend CFT's duration to six months if necessary, and it could even add a third astronaut to the trip.
NASA will move to certify Starliner for operational crewed flights to and from the space station if CFT goes smoothly.
In 2014, NASA inked contracts with both Boeing and SpaceX for astronaut taxis. SpaceX is already up and running, having launched five crewed trips to the station with Dragon and its Falcon 9 rocket.
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