NASA plans to conduct its next test flight of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft without a crew on board. The mission will aim to confirm that the spacecraft’s thrusters function properly after modifications were made to the vehicle’s propulsion system. According to Steve Stich, Commercial Crew Program Manager at NASA, the next flight will be an uncrewed test to solidify the prop system in the service module and eliminate helium leaks and thruster issues.
The Starliner’s last crewed mission extended from eight days to over nine months due to capsule issues. The spacecraft carried astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Butch Wilmore on a successful splashdown of the SpaceX Dragon Freedom, which returned them home from the International Space Station this week.
Stich emphasized that the Starliner needs to be fully crew-capable to test how it would react to docking at the ISS again. The mission will help NASA certify the spacecraft to perform routine missions to and from the ISS. If successful, the Starliner could play a key role in helping NASA prepare for its upcoming moon and Mars missions.
The next Starliner test flight will be followed by crewed rotations, with the goal of establishing a regular crew rotation schedule. This marks an important step forward for the Commercial Crew Program at NASA, which aims to use American rockets and spacecraft to launch astronauts and cargo to the ISS.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/nasa-planning-boeing-starliner-test-flight-after-astronauts/story?id=119999352