A new video of the May Orbital Test Flight-2 (OFT2) flight test using the Starliner capsule has been released by Boeing. The “Rosie the Rocketeer” dummy served as a passenger on the spacecraft as it was launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) and returned to Earth during the test. The return appears to have been captured from several different angles by various cameras.
The video, which captures some of the closing minutes of the mission, was captured by cameras inside the spaceship. According to a statement from Boeing, “Starliner lands in the desert instead of the ocean, which is a first for a US-built orbital capsule.”
Boeing claims that the airbag and parachute systems enable a soft landing on the sand, which lessens the impact on the crew members. Passengers can rapidly exit the capsule on solid land without taking into account factors like wave heights, currents, and surface winds, according to their explanation.
In order to determine how well the spacecraft complied with NASA’s standards and ensure that it is prepared for future manned missions, Boeing is collaborating with NASA to examine the flight test data. Due to a few issues during the journey, the process was ultimately delayed for a few months, but it should now be finished soon.
The Orbital Flight Test-2 mission was originally scheduled to launch in August of last year, but it was postponed because certain valves in the capsule’s propulsion system failed. As a result, the test could only launch on May 19; 24 hours after launch, the spacecraft docked with the ISS. Boeing has a deal with NASA to launch at least six missions to the ISS, but has not yet conducted a manned test flight, which is scheduled for 2023.
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