The U.S. space agency has decided to delay the planned late-February launch of two military satellites aboard a ULA Atlas 5 rocket to evaluate the readiness of one of the payloads, giving officials a window to lift the a non-flying test flight of Boeing Starliner crew capsule until no earlier than March 25th.
The launch of the Army’s Space Test Program-3, or STP-3, was previously scheduled for February 26 on an Atlas 5 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Station. The STP-3 mission will deliver two military spacecraft in a geosynchronous orbit more than 20,000 miles across the equator.
A spokesman for the Space and Missile Systems Center said the STP-3 launch was delayed to “evaluate readiness” of the military satellites, called STPSat6, and “to ensure the success of the primary payload. ‘
STPSat 6 offers a variety of payloads and experiments, including the National Nuclear Safety Administration’s Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 payload, designed to detect nuclear explosions from orbit. NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration experiment and several more payloads are also flying on the STPSat 6 spacecraft.
A smaller satellite called LPDE 1 will orbit STPSat 6. The LPDE 1 spacecraft is designed to accommodate experimental payloads and small satellites that can be deployed from the parent satellite into orbit.
The STP-3 mission is also a milestone mission for ULA, as it will be the first Atlas 5 launch built by the US. The 5.4 meter (17.7 foot) diameter garment is the same in size as the cargo screens flown on previous Atlas 5 flights, but these were built by RUAG Space in Switzerland.
But the new hoods are being built by RUAG technicians at ULA’s rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama, using updated manufacturing techniques. The same tub design is intended to fly on the next generation VLcan Centaur rocket from ULA.
The Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center said the STP-3 mission does not have a new target date.
With the STP-3 mission out of the way, ULA’s first launch of 2021 Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will fly in orbit to the International Space Station.
The unplanned demonstration mission, named Orbital Flight Test-2, is a repeat of Boeing’s OFT-1 test flight in December 2019. Software problems on the OFT-1 mission prevented the Starliner spacecraft from crashing into the space station, a premature parachute landing at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico.
Boeing said earlier this month that engineers had completed the “reclassification” of the Starliner software code. The software will undergo an end-to-end test next month to test its functionality during a simulated Starliner flight from launch to dock and after decoupling and landing.
The Starliner spacecraft is one of two new crew capsules designed to transport astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule flew with astronauts for the first time last May, but Boeing’s software problems delayed the Starliner program for more than a year.
NASA has contracted with Boeing and SpaceX to develop the new crew capsules, which ended US dependence on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for astronauts.
The OFT-2 mission was earlier scheduled for March 29, but NASA and Boeing officials launched the launch date after March 25 after the STP-3 delay.
“The target launch date is made possible by an opening on the Eastern Range, the availability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 6 rocket, steady progress with hardware and software, and an International Space Station facility opportunity,” NASA said in a statement. .
“Boeing recently paired the spacecraft’s reusable crew module on its brand new service module at the Starliner production plant at Kennedy Space Center in Florida,” NASA said. “Teams are completing the installation of the vehicle inside before loading cargo and conducting final spacecraft inspections.”
Assuming the week-long OFT-2 test flight goes well, Boeing hopes to launch the Starliner’s first crew test as early as mid-2021 with a three-person crew. The three astronauts will hang out at the space station, where they are expected to spend one to two weeks before returning to Earth.
After the Crew Flight Test, NASA will certify the Starliner to fly on space rotation missions to the space station. These flights will carry four astronauts and last up to seven months.
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