NASA Invites Media to Prelaunch, Launch Activities for Boeing's Orbital Flight Test-2

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Feb 03, 2021, 16:23 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Media accreditation now is open for prelaunch and launch activities for NASA's Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station, the second uncrewed flight test of the company's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

The launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is targeted for no earlier than March 25 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The uncrewed mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of Starliner and the Atlas V rocket from launch to docking to a return to Earth in the desert of the western United States. Following a successful completion of the OFT-2 mission, NASA and Boeing are targeting no earlier than September 2021 for NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), Starliner's first flight with astronauts aboard.

OFT-2 and CFT will provide valuable data toward NASA certifying Boeing's crew transportation system for regular flights with astronauts to and from the space station.

Media also may apply separately for a photo opportunity during the rollout of the Starliner spacecraft from Boeing's Commercial Cargo and Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The operational activity is targeted for approximately 4 a.m. EST on Wednesday, March 10.

Media accreditation deadlines for both OFT-2 launch and the photo opportunity are as follows:

U.S. media interested in being on-site for a photo opportunity of Starliner rollout must apply for credentials by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17.
U.S. media interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply for credentials by 4 p.m. Monday, March 1.
U.S.-based International media without U.S. citizenship interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply by 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11.

All accreditation requests should be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

NASA continues to monitor developments related to the coronavirus pandemic, and Kennedy will grant access to only a limited number of media to protect the health and safety of media and employees. Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions at Kennedy, international media coming from overseas will need to follow quarantine requirements.

The agency will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the agency's chief health and medical officer, and will immediately communicate any updates that may affect media access for this launch.

For questions about media accreditation, email [email protected]. For other questions, contact Kennedy's newsroom at 321-867-2468.

Reporters with special logistics requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, tents, electrical connections, or work spaces, must contact Kristi Irastorza at [email protected] by Friday, Feb. 25.

NASA's Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil. The goal of the program is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station, which will allow for additional research time and will increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity's testbed for exploration. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars.

For launch coverage and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

SOURCE NASA