Boeing’s Starliner debut crew launch delayed due to traffic jam at ISS

Image credit: Boeing/John Grant

The first crewed launch of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule, which was tentatively scheduled for mid-April, has been delayed to early May. The delay is due to scheduling conflicts with the International Space Station (ISS). This mission, known as the Crew Flight Test (CFT), will send NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS for a roughly 10-day stay.

In a media advisory released by NASA late March 8, the agency said the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, previously scheduled to launch no earlier than April 22, was now scheduled for early May. The agency said the slip was “due to space station scheduling” but did not elaborate. 

At recent briefings, NASA manager said the key factor in the schedule for CFT was other missions to the station. “What we’ve been doing is watching how we progress with the Crew-8 launch and the CRS-30 mission,” said Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, in a media briefing after the successful March 3 launch of SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission which carried 4 astronauts to the ISS.

According to updated NASA roster, SpaceX’s CRS-30 cargo mission is scheduled for launch in mid-March and will stay at the station for about a month. After it departs, the Crew-8 spacecraft will move from its current forward docking port on the Harmony module to the zenith port to allow Starliner to use the forward port. Those ports are the only two available on the station for both Starliner and Dragon spacecraft.

Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

 

At that briefing and earlier ones, Stich said that preparations for Starliner itself were going well. “The spacecraft is in really good shape. There’s not much work left to go,” he said at a Feb. 25 briefing.

Boeing has been developing the Starliner under a contract with NASA since September 2014, and the capsule has completed two uncrewed test flights targeting the ISS. The first crewed mission has been postponed several times due to technical issues and now ISS traffic.

Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

The Boeing Starliner has experienced several delays after its debut flight. Here's a summary of the reported delays:

- July 2021 : The first crewed launch was scheduled but postponed due to issues with the spacecraft's parachutes and wiring.


- April 2023 : A delay was announced because of a problem with the suspension lines on Starliner's main parachutes and the discovery that much of the capsule's wiring was wrapped with flammable tape.

- June 2023 : The launch was delayed indefinitely over new safety concerns, specifically related to the spacecraft's parachutes and wiring.

- October 2023 : The first crewed test flight was pushed back an additional month, to no earlier than mid-April 2024.

- March 2024 : The first astronaut launch was delayed to early May due to space station scheduling.

These issues add to a series of setbacks for the Starliner program, which has experienced delays and technical challenges since its inception. The first uncrewed test flight in December 2019 failed to reach the correct orbit and dock with the ISS, leading to an early landing. A subsequent investigation resulted in Boeing being tasked with addressing 80 different corrective actions. Despite a successful uncrewed test flight to the ISS in May 2022, the latest traffic situation at ISS has pushed back the crewed launch again.


These delays reflect the challenges faced in developing new spacecraft and the rigorous safety standards required for human spaceflight by NASA.

 

By Azhar

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Comments

Mike Danko
8 months ago

After the tragic Apollo 1 fire, why in the world would they wrap wiring with flammable tape? That seems like a stupid and avoidable mistake. And issues with parachutes? How long have they been employing parachutes? 80 corrective actions? Do better, Boeing.

Randal ray
8 months ago

Hope the bolts are all in place