NASA TV to Air Boeing Starliner Pad Abort Test
“NASA and Boeing will broadcast live coverage of the CST-100 Starliner Pad Abort Test on Monday, Nov. 4, from Launch Complex 32 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The test is scheduled for 9 a.m. EST (7 a.m. MST) with a three-hour test window. Live coverage is targeted to start at 8:50 a.m., on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Coverage will be adjusted as necessary within the window.”

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9 replies on “Live Webcast Of Boeing Starliner Pad Abort Test Monday Morning”

  2. Is that the heat shield being jettisoned before the air bags deployed or just some kind of cover?

    1. I believe that may be the service/propulsion module. Once it’s activated in an emergency, they dispose of it before landing. The air bags had to deploy too, right on the heat shield. What? I need to learn more about how all the pieces work together, in a predetermined sequence. The heat shield stays on the capsule in all cases. It is needed for a nominal reentry so it is not “ejectable” I will admit that the air bags are a mistery to me…. All in All, excellent work. A very dynamic demonstration. It is probably a hairy ride =)
      Great Job Boeing. Yay.
      NASA keep it going!

      1. No the service module was jettisoned before, the large ring shaped portion of the spacecraft. I’m talking about the thinner round parabolic part that was jettisoned just before the airbags deployed.

        1. Yes. I saw that after watching it a couple of times… I had no idea CST-100 ejects the heat shield to expose and inflate the air bags. The “pitch over” is quite dynamic, wild looking ride. I could not tell which direction they pitch. I also wish they had better video camera operators.

    2. The believe it’s the heat shield. A cover wouldn’t survive reentry. The service module is ejected first than the heat shield so the bags can be deployed.

  3. Only two chutes popped. Both Boeing and NASA swear a single chute would be adequate for a landing. What’s the criteria for that ? —survivable with only a few bone fractures ? I dunno…. that touchdown looked pretty hard to me, on two chutes.

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