NASA freezes Starliner missions after Boeing leaves astronauts stranded

In light of the Starliner test flight that left its crew stranded in space, NASA will use SpaceX’s Dragon for upcoming crewed flights to the International Space Station (ISS) while the space agency decides what to do with Boeing’s troubled spacecraft.

NASA this week Announce Crew Dragon will launch the Crew-10 mission no later than February 2025, followed by the Crew-11 mission no later than July 2025, delaying Boeing’s next CST-100 Starliner opportunity to travel to the International Space Station. NASA had hoped Starliner would launch its first operational mission by early next year, but the spacecraft’s first crewed test flight proved a complete failure, leaving Boeing nowhere near its desired certification.

“The timing and configuration of the next Starliner flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to certification of the system is achieved,” NASA wrote in its update. “This decision will include considerations to incorporate lessons learned from crew flight testing, final certification product approvals, and operational readiness.”

The space agency added that NASA is considering various options for certification of the system, including a proposed Starliner flight sometime in 2025. However, it is not clear whether the next flight will have a crew on board or the spacecraft will fly solo to the space station. International.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft blasted off to the International Space Station on June 5, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams on the spacecraft’s first crewed test flight. The spacecraft remained docked at the space station for three months as teams on Earth debated whether or not to return the crew aboard the Starliner.

During its journey to the International Space Station, five of the spacecraft’s engines failed and five helium leaks occurred in the spacecraft, one of which was identified before liftoff. Mission teams conducted tests on Earth to try to determine the main problem behind the propulsion glitch before ultimately deciding to return the unmanned Starliner and return its crew aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Willmore and Williams will return to Earth with the SpaceX Crew-9 spacecraft in February 2025, after spending eight months aboard the International Space Station against the original plan for a week-long mission in orbit.

In 2014, NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX as part of the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program to develop a spacecraft capable of carrying crew and cargo to the International Space Station. At the time, Boeing was an established force in the industry while SpaceX was a relative newcomer with a lot to prove. Over the past four years, SpaceX has exceeded expectations, sending nine crews to the space station while Boeing is still struggling to get certification for its first mission.

Boeing has not yet met the end of its obligations $4.3 billion Commercial crew program Contracting with NASA. First designed in 2010, the company’s CST-100 Starliner builds on a long legacy of designing and building Apollo spacecraft, but its journey to the International Space Station was marred by several delays and failures.

Starliner’s first unmanned test flight in 2019 managed to reach space, but a software automation glitch caused the spacecraft to burn excess fuel, preventing it from reaching the International Space Station. The Starliner misjudged its position in space due to a malfunction caused by a faulty mission expiration timer.

The failed first flight prompted NASA to call for a second test flight of the empty spacecraft before the crew boarded. In May 2022, Boeing completed Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2), the second uncrewed test flight of the Starliner vehicle, paving the way for a crewed test flight. But OFT-2 suffered some setbacks, including the failure of the thruster used in the orbital maneuver.

NASA’s retirement of the Space Shuttle prompted the need for a new spaceship for astronauts on the International Space Station. The space agency has sought to eliminate dependence on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport crew and has invested heavily in developing partnerships with private aerospace companies.

Despite Starliner’s less than ideal uncrewed flights, NASA is still moving forward with its latest crewed test flight, with the hope that the spacecraft will finally be ready to fly its crew to the ISS on a regular basis and that the space agency will have two commercial flight partners servicing the station. Satellite.