NASA is set to test Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for its next crewed flight, which is now expected to take place in late 2024 or early 2025. The agency’s Commercial Crew Program is working with Boeing to resolve a system fault that occurred during the spacecraft’s debut eight-day mission to the International Space Station in November 2022.
The faulty propulsion system caused the Starliner to stay in space for nine months, forcing NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return earlier than planned. The issue has added significant cost to Boeing’s development of the spacecraft, which has already exceeded $2 billion.
NASA is working with Boeing to finalize the scope and timelines for various propulsion system test campaigns and analyses, which are targeted to take place throughout the spring and summer. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, says the next flight is likely to occur in the second half of 2024 or early 2025.
The successful completion of these tests will be crucial to NASA’s certification of the Starliner for crewed flights, paving the way for a new era of commercial space travel.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/nasa-boeing-start-testing-starliner-next-flight-aimed-early-2026-2025-03-27