Last Update: March 30, 2023, 03:52 am
Boeing had hoped to make its first manned flight of the CST-100 Starliner in 2022, but has faced several delays. (Photo: NASA/Twitter)
Starliner will carry two NASA astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, to the ISS, where they are expected to stay for at least eight days.
Boeing and NASA officials said Wednesday that the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner space capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place in July.
Officials said the CST-100 Starliner mission, previously planned for April, would happen no earlier than July 21.
“We have deliberated and decided that the best launch attempt for CFT is no earlier than July 21,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, told reporters.
“We feel pretty confident about that date,” said Mark Nappi, Starliner program manager at Boeing.
Stich said more time is needed to certify the parachute system designed to safely return astronauts and spacecraft to Earth, and that a ground test of the parachute will be conducted in May.
Starliner will carry two NASA astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, to the ISS, where they are expected to stay for at least eight days.
The spacecraft is to be launched into space on an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
If the mission is successful, the Boeing capsule will eventually be certified and begin operational flights, with a date to be determined.
Boeing had hoped to make its first manned flight of the CST-100 Starliner in 2022, but has faced several delays.
The company finally managed to reach the ISS for the first time in May 2022 – without a crew on board.
NASA awarded $4.2 billion fixed-price contracts to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX in 2014, shortly after the end of the Space Shuttle program, during a time when the United States relied on Russian Soyuz rockets for rides to the ISS.
NASA is looking to certify the Starliner as a second “taxi” service for its astronauts to the space station – a role that Elon Musk’s SpaceX will provide after a successful test mission of its Dragon capsule in 2020. is of.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
