The first manned flight of Boeing’s Starliner space capsule has been postponed again and is now scheduled for April, NASA announced Thursday. The US space agency wants to enable a second means of transport to the International Space Station (ISS) for its astronauts, with the SpaceX capsule already in service.
Two NASA astronauts on board
But Boeing suffered a series of setbacks that significantly delayed its schedule, including a failed test flight in 2019. The company finally made it to the ISS for the first time in May 2022, with no crew on board. The new deadline announced Thursday allows traffic to the space station to be regulated, NASA said in a statement, without elaborating.
This test flight, called CFT (for “crew flight test”), will carry two NASA astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams. They should remain on the ISS for about two weeks, NASA said on Thursday.
If the mission is successful, the Boeing capsule will finally be able to be certified and begin its operational flights, at a date yet to be determined.
Source: BFM TV
