When the astronauts climbed into the space shuttle to prepare for flight, the staff who closed the hatch gave the astronauts a high-five. This became a launch day tradition.
But for the first Starliner launch with a crew on board, a Boeing project engineer who was about to say goodbye to two astronauts said he wanted something more personal.
“I’m kissing their foreheads,” said Armando Loli, senior project engineer on Boeing’s Tech 5 launch pad team.
The journey to get to this point in the Boeing Starliner has been a long one, and for at least two Boeing engineers, it meant more time getting to know Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Williams, the two astronauts will pilot Starliner on its first crewed mission next month. Everything about this mission became more personal.
“It’s like a graduation, or the birth of your child,” said Dee Dobson, systems engineering technician at Boeing. “It’s one of those life events that you prepare for a long time. There are no words to even describe it.” Describe it.
Loli and Dobson spoke to FLORIDA TODAY as the Starliner launched at midnight on Tuesday from Launch Complex 41 at the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral. .
Don’t miss the next release:Any starters today? SpaceX, ULA, NASA’s upcoming rocket launch schedule in Florida
Boeing aims to catch up with SpaceX
For the Boeing team, the day has arrived when the Starliner spacecraft will finally test crews on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. NASA originally awarded Boeing the human astronaut contract in 2014, along with SpaceX.
Both companies were selected as part of the commercial crew program at the same time, with Boeing receiving $4.8 billion in funding for the Starliner project and SpaceX receiving $3.1 billion in funding for the Dragon project.
But since 2020, SpaceX has been transporting astronauts on their Dragon crew spacecraft. Starliner has previously flown two unmanned missions, and while the first mission in 2019 failed to reach the International Space Station, the second mission in 2022 did and successfully docked and detached from the International Space Station. However, the last flight was not without problems, causing Starliner to wait two years before seeing another flight.
Mixed emotions as Starliner launch day approaches
Loli has been with Boeing on every Starliner flight. Over the past six years, he’s seen it all, from the formation of Starliner’s main structure all the way to next month’s planned crewed mission. He started working in industrial engineering on OFT-1 (Orbital Flight Test 1), but now his work on this flight also includes working on the launch pad team.
Recalling the progress the team has made over the years, Lowry said, “Finally it’s here.” It’s a mixed emotion. Today we’re talking about the first launch of (Starliner) that we saw and it was like wow, this is crazy. We’ve seen the launch of the first aircraft and now we’re seeing Butch and Suny’s CFT (Crew Flight Test). Wow, finally, they’re launching into space.
“I’m going to buckle Suny and Butch up before launch,” Lolli said, referring to his job as a crew member who will be the last people with the astronauts before they go into space. I’ve been interacting with them for years.
Lolly said he had been planning the send-off for some time. I asked them, hey, when you launched the space shuttle back in the day, what was your tradition with the closing team? You know, that’s a high five. I said, “I’m not going to do that,” Lolly said, contemplating her planned send-off. I kiss their foreheads.
While liftoff will be exciting, Lolly said they will feel true satisfaction when they see Williams and Wilmore return safely from this milestone flight.
Since they will interact with Williams and Wilmore before departure, Lori and other members of the closing team will also be quarantining with them. Astronauts flying to the space station must quarantine two weeks before their flight to ensure their health on launch day and beyond. The Starliner crew is scheduled to begin quarantine on Monday, April 22, in preparation for the May 6 launch.
Starliner landing day crew prepares for recovery in New Mexico
For Dobson, her job involves not only liftoff but also the crew’s return. She will serve as project leader for the interior photography system of the spacecraft, known as Mustang, during crewed flight tests. Dobson will also serve on the landing and recovery team.
As launch day approaches, Dobson is working with crews testing camera systems and packing cargo bags.
Reflecting on how far the Boeing team has come, Dobson said it’s all part of a long journey. Dobson told FLORIDA TODAY she has known Williams since she was assigned to participate in Starliner crew flight tests in 2022.
She sees the positives in the long wait for a crewed launch.
“That’s one of the reasons why Starliner was delayed, the crew had more training time on the vehicle and we all got to spend more time with them,” Dobson said. They are as much a part of the family as anyone who works on or has anything to do with the vehicle.
When the crew returns to Earth with a planned soft landing in the New Mexico desert, Dobson will be there to greet them. All of us would be out in the desert waiting for them, staring at the sky with binoculars looking for them,” she told FLORIDA TODAY.
Dobson briefly explained the team’s activities for the day the crew went home. Unlike SpaceX’s Dragon, which splashes down in the ocean, Starliner will land under three parachutes and deploy airbags to slow down the landing.
A lot happens when they first land. We ensure vehicles are safe to approach and around. There is voice communication between the crew and the ground team to ensure everyone is okay and everything is OK in the vehicle.
It will be really exciting to see them. This will be the finals oh my gosh. We succeeded. That’s it: mission accomplished, she said. I would say welcome home. How was your trip? Did you have fun?
Boeing teammates reflect on friendship with Astros
We have known Butch and Suni for over six years. I remember when we first started we were all like wow, that’s an astronaut,” Lori said.
As time went on, we were like oh, it’s Suny and Butch. They might ask us to do something, so let’s hide.
Lowery smiled and told FLORIDA TODAY he considered the two Astros good friends.
Dobson nodded. Sometimes the tasks are long. Sometimes the missions are short. Sometimes it takes a sprint to get there. Sometimes it’s a marathon. “Our game is a marathon,” Dobson said. We know Butch and Suny. It wasn’t just us who sent this car, we’ve been working on it for years. We are sending our friends into space.
Brooke Edwards is FLORIDA TODAY’s space reporter. Contact her at bedswards@floridatoday.com or @brookeofstars.
#Boeing #engineers #prepare #Starliner #crew #rocket #launch
Image Source : www.floridatoday.com