STARLINER ORBITAL FLIGHT TEST-2 (OFT-2)

ChinmayaIAS Academy - Current Affairs August 4, 2021 GS, GS3 Leave a comment 392 Views

Recently, the launch of Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) has been postponed once again.
The spacecraft, which is called the Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100), is part of an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Important points

The spacecraft has been designed to accommodate seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo for missions to low-Earth orbit
For NASA service missions to the ISS, it will carry up to four NASA-sponsored crew members and time-critical scientific research.
The Starliner is supposed to carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies.
The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time.

Purpose:

When this test flight takes off, it will check the capabilities of the spacecraft from launch, docking, atmospheric re-entry and a landing at a desert in the US.
The spaceflight will also help NASA to ascertain and certify the transportation system to carry astronauts to and from the space station in the future.
Its main objective is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
Through this program, NASA plans to lower its costs by sharing them with commercial partners such as Boeing and SpaceX.
It is also planning to give the companies incentive to design and build the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS).
COTS was a NASA program, announced in 2006 to coordinate the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) by private companies.
By encouraging private companies such as Boeing and SpaceX to provide crew transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, NASA can focus on building spacecraft and rockets meant for deep space exploration missions.
Crew-2 mission is the second crew rotation of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with international partners.
Crew-2 astronauts joined the members of Expedition 65 (65th long duration expedition to the ISS).
In May 2020, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight lifted off for the ISS carrying two astronauts.
The aim of this test flight was to see if SpaceX capsules could be used on a regular basis to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.