Media accreditation 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 the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Liftoff on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Starliner is targeted for Thursday, May 19, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
NASA and Boeing will hold a joint media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday, May 3, to discuss the OFT-2 mission and provide an update on spacecraft readiness. The teleconference will include the following participants:
- Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
- Dr. Michelle Parker, vice president and deputy general manager, Space and Launch, Boeing
- Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, CST-100 Starliner, Boeing
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website.
The uncrewed mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket from launch to docking and return to Earth at one of five designated landing zones in the western United States. Following a successful completion of the OFT-2 mission, NASA and Boeing will determine a launch window 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 accreditation and mission overview teleconference participation deadlines for the OFT-2 launch are as follows (all times Eastern):
- Media interested in participating in the OFT-2 mission overview news teleconference must RSVP by 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 3.
- U.S. media interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply for credentials by 5 p.m. Sunday, April 24.
- All international media, including U.S.-based international media without U.S. citizenship, interested in covering the OFT-2 launch must apply by 5 p.m. Sunday, April 17.
All accreditation requests should be submitted online at:
For questions about media accreditation, email: [email protected]. For other questions, contact the newsroom at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at: 321-867-2468.
Special logistical requests, such as space for satellite trucks, tents, or electrical connections, should be sent: [email protected] by 5 p.m. Friday, May 6.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425.
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 International 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
Rod Washington: Rod is a blogger, writer, filmmaker, photographer, daydreamer who likes to cook. Rod produces and directs the web series, CUPIC: Diary of an Investigator. He also produces news and documentary video projects. Check out his podcast StoriesThisMoment at https://m3e.d71.myftpupload.com/stm-tncn-podcasts/
