After a picture-perfect launch aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket early Friday morning, the Boeing Starliner capsule missed its proper orbital insertion to rendezvous with the International Space Station as planned, and will instead land in White Sands, New Mexico tomorrow morning at 7:57 AM EST. Coverage will be shown live on NASA TV starting at 6:45 AM EST.
Tune in on Sunday, Dec. 22 for live coverage of the deorbit and landing of @BoeingSpace’s CST-100 #Starliner spacecraft at White Sands, New Mexico.
Deorbit burn is scheduled for 7:23 a.m. ET, landing for 7:57 a.m. ET.
Coverage will begin at 6:45 a.m. ET: https://t.co/YeWrpz41EN pic.twitter.com/wm0AfD3Kx4
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) December 21, 2019
Due to what is believed to be a software issue, Boeing’s capsule did not make the planned burn to reach the orbit needed for ISS rendezvous. The problem occurred due to automation and a communication challenge with TDRS, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites; according to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine during a press conference yesterday morning, if the capsule had been crewed, the astronauts aboard might have been able to provide data and take action to complete the mission as planned, and in any case, would have been safe. ULA CEO Tory Bruno confirmed during the same press conference that ULA’s Atlas V rocket performed nominally throughout the launch to spacecraft separation. Despite the issues encountered, a great deal of information is being gathered to help ensure that future problems of this sort can be prevented. At this time, it has not been determined whether there will be another uncrewed test mission prior to the first crewed launch of the Starliner capsule.
Meanwhile, the launch itself was viewable along the eastern coast of the United States, resulting in spectacular photos from viewers far north of Florida, as well as the usual stunning work by the recurring cast of Space Coast launch photographers:
Rocket launch as seen from Wayne County, NC. @NASA @wxbrad @katcampbellwx @spann pic.twitter.com/pwthk3WhEv
— Wayne County Weather (@Wright_Shumate) December 20, 2019
ULA put on a good show off the Isle of Palms in South Carolina. @torybruno pic.twitter.com/yLoRXe1qjL
— Phil Bennett (@plbinsc) December 20, 2019
I was lucky enough to capture the second stage of the #AtlasV rocket high over Murrells Inlet this morning. My buddy, @robperillo, who was actually at the launch, said this occurred at 96 miles up! Shot with my 200 mm lens. #Starliner #NASASocial #scwx #ncwx pic.twitter.com/MtrGzKr5XY
— Ed Piotrowski (@EdPiotrowski) December 20, 2019
@torybruno this is from Atlanta Georgia #Starliner pic.twitter.com/G7rImEdr4P
— Ericwalker (@_ericwalker_) December 20, 2019
Video of the #Boeing #Starliner 38K feet in the air during my flight from Fort Lauderdale to NYC this am. #AtlasV So grateful for the @JetBlue pilot alerting us! pic.twitter.com/t6YPyUbcmm
— Caroline P Sheikhnia 🎥📸 (@cperezvisuals) December 20, 2019
#StarlinerOFT #OFT launch as seen from @UCF featuring Spectrum Stadium @UCFKnights (DSLR shot) 1/2 pic.twitter.com/iV1Ql4Q5VD
— Jared-Base | Starliner OFT (@baserunner0723) December 20, 2019
Always stunning to see the Jellyfish Phenomenon occur during rocket launches from Cape Canaveral! United Launch Alliance #ATLAS V in an unusual N22 configuration performed flawlessly yesterday & made this beautiful moment happen! Well done @ulalaunch @torybruno & your team! #OFT pic.twitter.com/YMpjexn9IH
— Scott Schilke (@SchilkeScott) December 21, 2019
Mighty Atlas just put on a show🔥 #OFT
⚙️/⬇️/🖼: https://t.co/5lK0ySHnfD pic.twitter.com/n2Fs1gweKP
— Trevor Mahlmann (@TrevorMahlmann) December 20, 2019
And while all the pre-launch prep and post-launch drama was going on elsewhere, SpaceX’s drone ship Of Course I Still Love You sailed serenely into port on Thursday, carrying the landed booster from the successful JCSAT-18/Kacific1 launch on December 16th. By Friday evening, the booster was horizontal and being offloaded from OCISLY.
Welcome home B1056.3! #SpaceXFleet @SpaceXFleet pic.twitter.com/ZgJFIOfZt7
— Jared-Base | Starliner OFT (@baserunner0723) December 19, 2019
Don’t forget to tune into NASA TV tomorrow for coverage of the Starliner capsule landing, and stay tuned for more exciting Space Coast rocket launches!