The livestream has begun for tonight's #NASA #Boeing #Starliner Crewed Test Flight, targeting 10:34 PM EDT.
#NASA and #Boeing have scrubbed tonight's #Starliner launch due to a problem with an oxygen relief valve on the second stage.
From #NASA: Now targeting no earlier than (NET) Friday May 10 for another #Boeing #Starliner Crewed Test Flight.
No time given in the blog post. For #ISS flights, they move up roughly 23 minutes each day due to orbital mechanics, so if last night was targeting 10:34 PM EDT, figure Friday will be around 9:00 PM EDT (a more civil hour).
Warning, boring orbital mechanics screed ...
#ISS orbits Earth at 51° to the equator so it can pass over both #KSC and Baikonur.
If you attend a night launch, you'll see ISS pass over KSC just before so the crew vehicle is on the same trajectory.
ISS orbits Earth once every 90 minutes, 18 times a day. But Earth is rotating too, so the upshot is that ISS passes over KSC about once a day minus 22-23 minutes.
You can see ISS pass over KSC in this video at the 5:20 mark.
You might think that Shuttle (in that video) or any other crewed vehicle is going to try to catch up to #ISS, but that's not quite how it works.
ISS-bound vehicles typically launch to an altitude slightly higher than the station's orbit, then begin a dance slowly falling back to Earth to intercept the ISS orbit. It's easier than trying to chase the station.
Orbital mechanics can be mind-bending.
From #NASA: Now targeting Friday May 17 at 6:16 PM EDT for the #Boeing #Starliner Crewed Test Flight.
I'll be watching. 👍
@th3j35t3r Just watched the convoy drive from Crew Quarters to LC-41. I've driven that road many times but never part of the convoy. We saw them rehearsing once in a while.
@WordsmithFL How many doors will have upon arriving at destination?
@MrGoat Not sure I understand your question. How many doors on the spacecraft? There's one hatch for crew egress on the side, but there's another hatch on the top for docking with the space station.
@WordsmithFL It's a Boeing - it may have less doors when it arrives.
@MrGoat Ah, okay.
Both Boeing and SpaceX had NASA astronauts assigned to vehicle design. Boeing used crap components, unfortunately. But the two astros flying tonight were the ones who designed it in partnership with Boeing, and NASA has been all over this vehicle, so I'm confident it should go fairly well.
@MrGoat There have already been two uncrewed test flights. The first one went poorly, so NASA made them do a second one which went better.
@WordsmithFL ah ok - well hope this one does well then.
@MrGoat All test flights have gotchyas. Hopefully this one's gotchyas are minor.
If anything, I'm worried about landing. Parachutes are finicky, but Boeing is landing on land somewhere around White Sands NM. A big airbag has to deploy the cushion the landing. It's been tested umpteen times but one never knows.
Thanks, @th3j35t3r, for boosting the link.