KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Fresh off its first ever flight, Boeing's Starliner capsule is being overhauled and refurbished for its next mission.
- Boeing, NASA studying data from Starliner mission
- Capsule getting refurbished for another mission
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Spectrum News was able to check out the spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center.
Boeing says Starliner is now a space-proven capsule, the first-ever flown, reusable spacecraft in history, designed to land on land.
The team is pouring over all the spacecraft system data, plus the propulsion system, the thermal protection system and making sure it's structurally sound for its next flight.
"Beyond the software anomaly we had, the vehicle did everything we asked it to do," said Boeing Spacecraft Engineering Manager Tim Reith.
The uncrewed test launch to the International Space Station last month came to a halt when a timing malfunction happened in orbit.
Mission managers had to call off the ISS rendezvous, and instead plan a landing two days later.
The Starliner made 33 Earth revolutions, and traveled some 820,000 miles during that time.
The scorches on the capsule are from the intense heat of re-entry. Engineers say it's just cosmetic.
"We will get in there with some abrasion compounds and take most of that off," says Reith.
Video cameras from inside the Starliner show Rosie the Rocketeer and Snoopy. (Greg Pallone, Spectrum News)
Boeing cameras also showed inside the Starliner during launch, displaying Rosie the Rocketeer, a test dummy, and a little astronaut Snoopy.
Rosie's data will be studied to show what astronauts will experience.
Boeing officials say while the spacecraft is important, it's also about the people behind it, along with the families who allow them to do the work.
Our employees own this success as much as they do," said Ramon Sanchez, Boeing Senior Operations Lead. "They sacrifice unbelievably to ensure that the U.S. is going to be self-sufficient again."
Once the joint Boeing and NASA team concludes the test flight investigation, the agencies will determine if the next Starliner launch will be "crewed" or "uncrewed."