Boeing’s Starliner Crewed Flight Test (CFT) which will carry astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) is now delayed to next year, with the earliest chance for launch in March. However, Boeing is still confident it will complete the six crewed flights ordered by NASA despite the planned demise of the ISS in 2030. NASA and Boeing shared the updated launch information in a press briefing on Monday, Aug. 7. The Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) Starliner was supposed to launch its first crewed flight on July 21, but Boeing found several issues that could have posed a threat to the safety of the astronauts, such as flammable tape and weak parachute soft links, causing yet another mission delay. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, along with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap), which aims to have two vehicles carry American astronauts and cargo to the ISS on rotation throughout the year, with the “goal of ending the nation’s sole reliance on Russia,” according to the space agency. The companies were selected in 2014 for the contract, and while SpaceX has almost completed seven crewed trips to the Station, Boeing’s Starliner…
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Boeing confident in achieving six flights to the ISS despite Starliner delay
