Boeing Gears Up for CST-100 Spacecraft Flight, Pad Abort Tests

Boeing has started preparations for the orbital flight test of its crew capsule in April and for a pad abort test in the following month under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.

The report said Boeing aims to launch its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station for an initial unmanned flight test, which is part of the Chicago-based company's efforts under a $4.2B contract NASA awarded in 2014.

Starliner completed a two-year series of tests earlier this month.

“We learned a great deal about our vehicle,” said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program. “We can now confidently say that the Starliner will safely and robustly handle every dynamic phase of flight.”

Boeing aims to conduct Starliner’s first crewed test flight in August.

SpaceX, which received a potential $2.6B CCP contract from the space agency, is scheduled to fly its Crew Dragon vehicle to the ISS this weekend.