The first manned flight test of Boeing’s Starliner capsule faces yet another delay, with NASA officials saying Wednesday that it is targeting a launch by July 21.
The space agency and Boeing are concerned about certification issues related to the capsule’s parachute system and other verification delays regarding Starliner components and functionality, as well as other planned missions to and from the International Space Station (ISS). I blamed it on scheduling constraints.
Steve Stitch, program manager for NASA’s commercial crew program, told reporters that NASA and Boeing will need to complete additional ground tests of the parachute system, as well as tests of Starliner’s abort system. rice field. Stress testing of the flight and guidance, navigation and control systems, as well as additional testing by the crew, is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
“The Starliner spacecraft is in very good shape,” Stich told reporters at a media briefing on Wednesday, adding that it was “almost ready for flight.”
Some of the additional testing was the result of Boeing engineers discovering an error in one of the Starliner’s components.
“We have fixed it,” Mark Nappi, Boeing Starliner program manager, said on Wednesday. So part of this testing is to verify that this is an isolated case.”
The CST-100 Starliner mission was scheduled to launch in April, but was pushed back to May last week to accommodate Axiom Space’s Ax-2 civilian spaceflight mission to the ISS.
The mission is an important part of an overall test campaign for the Starliner spacecraft that NASA hopes to use to routinely transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). If all goes according to plan, Boeing’s Starliner will be the only manned spacecraft capable of carrying out the mission, following SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and Russia’s Soyuz. Starliner’s first orbital test, an unmanned mission, successfully docked with her ISS last May.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft landed at White Sands Missile Range last May. Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls via Getty Images
In this upcoming crewed flight test, Starliner will carry two NASA astronauts, Barry Willmore and Sunita Williams, to the ISS for at least eight days. While the spacecraft docks at the station, the astronauts perform additional vehicle checkouts. The mission is scheduled to be launched on United Launch his Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Force Station Cape Canaveral in Florida.
If the mission is successful, NASA will likely qualify Starliner for an ISS mission. The capsule has a long way to go and the Starliner program faces myriad problems, including a failed test mission in 2019 and numerous delays.
“We know what we’re doing is very important, launching humans into space and providing NASA with a second provider,” Nappi said. We will take the time to make sure everyone is confident in the work they have done so far.”
