Boeing will send its troubled Starliner capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) without astronauts aboard, opting instead for a cargo-only test flight to demonstrate the spacecraft’s safety.
The decision comes months after NASA left two astronauts stranded in space rather than risk their return on the problem-plagued capsule.
NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams successfully docked Starliner at the space station for the first — and only– time last June.
The capsule experienced so many technical failures that NASA ordered it to return empty, forcing the astronauts to remain aboard the station for over nine months. Wilmore and Williams were finally transported back to Earth aboard a SpaceX capsule, as previously reported on by The Dallas Express.
“NASA and Boeing are continuing to rigorously test the Starliner propulsion system in preparation for two potential flights next year,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, the Associated Press reported.
The cargo mission won’t launch before April, pending additional tests and certification. Engineers have spent months analyzing thruster malfunctions and other issues that compromised the capsule’s safety.
NASA has also reduced its planned Starliner flights from six to four. If the cargo run succeeds, three crewed missions would remain before the space station’s decommissioning in 2030.
The aerospace giant has struggled to match SpaceX’s success in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, despite Boeing receiving $4.2 billion in 2014 to develop Starliner; SpaceX secured $2.6 billion for its Dragon capsule.
SpaceX launched its first NASA astronaut mission in 2020 and completed its 12th crew rotation this summer, whereas Boeing has yet to complete a successful crewed round-trip flight.
The setbacks have proven costly for Boeing, which has absorbed significant financial losses on the Starliner program while SpaceX dominates commercial crew transportation.