An unfortunate technical problem delayed Boeing’s second attempt at reaching the ISS, but now it is prepared for its journey.
You can watch the launch live this Tuesday!
The company’s second attempt at launching the Starliner crew capsule will occur this Tuesday, on Aug. 3.
The mission will be an uncrewed test flight.
The company’s first attempt took place in late 2019 but failed to reach the space station. Still, that mission managed to land safely back on our planet.
The mission was initially meant to take off Friday, but it got rescheduled due to an unforeseen problem with an ISS module.
“The International Space Station team will use the time to continue working checkouts of the newly arrived Roscosmos Nauka multipurpose laboratory module (MLM) and to ensure the station will be ready for Starliner’s arrival,” reads an official NASA statement.
Boeing and SpaceX are members of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which aims to send astronauts from American soil to the ISS.
Until now, SpaceX managed to deliver ten astronauts to the ISS, while Boeing worked hard to catch up.
However, the first step to do that is managing to dock the Starliner to the ISS and safely return it back home.
The space agency will Livestream the launch at 10:20 a.m. PT on Tuesday, Aug.3.
You can watch the launch live stream here:
The module will be hauled by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
The capsule will carry roughly 400 pounds of crew supplies and cargo, and, if all goes to plan, it will dock at the ISS some 24 hours later.
The docking process will also be published via live stream.
The ULA published some scenic photos from the launch site last Monday as they were preparing the liftoff.
The ULA #AtlasV rocket with @BoeingSpace‘s CST-100 #Starliner spacecraft rolled out to SLC-41 this morning to prepare for launch of the #OFT2 mission for NASA’s @Commercial_Crew program.
Photos by ULA pic.twitter.com/havGU09oYt
— ULA (@ulalaunch) August 2, 2021
