Boeing's CST-100 Starliner's first crewed flight has been delayed from late April to early May because of clashes in the International Space Station schedule, and not due to any problems with the spacecraft itself.
NASA released a media advisory on March 8, stating that the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, which was initially set for April 22, was now scheduled for early May due to space station scheduling, without providing further details.
NASA managers have stated that the schedule for CFT largely depends on other missions to the station, specifically the Crew-8 launch and the CRS-30 mission, as mentioned by Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager.
SpaceX's CRS-30 cargo mission is set to launch in mid-March and will be at the station for about a month. After its departure, the Crew-8 spacecraft will move to another port to make way for Starliner, as only two ports are available for both Starliner and Dragon spacecraft.
Stich emphasized the complexity of traffic management as the main factor determining when Starliner will be able to fly.
Stich has consistently indicated that the preparations for Starliner are progressing well, stating that the spacecraft is in excellent condition and there is not much work left to be done.
He previously mentioned that technical issues, which caused CFT to be delayed from last summer, have been addressed by performing a final parachute test in January and resolving issues with valves in a thermal control system. “Those three big issues that we had last summer have been resolved and we’re in the middle of some final certification work on the parachutes and a few other things,” Stich said.The CFT mission, launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5, will send NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS. They will remain on the station for up to two weeks before returning to Earth. A successful flight would clear the way for NASA certification of the spacecraft for crew rotation missions, starting with Starliner-1 in early 2025.
NASA separately announced March 8 plans for the return of Crew-7, which has been on the ISS since late August 2023. The four members of Crew-7 will depart in their Crew Dragon spacecraft and splash down off the Florida coast on March 12 at 5:35 a.m. Eastern.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner's first crewed flight has been postponed from late April to early May due to International Space Station schedule conflicts, not issues with the spacecraft itself.
NASA separately announced March 8 plans for the return of Crew-7, which has been on the ISS since late August 2023. The agency said that the four members of Crew-7 — NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA’s Andreas Mogensen, JAXA’s Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos’ Konstantin Borisov — will depart in their Crew Dragon spacecraft at 11:05 a.m. Eastern March 10. The spacecraft would splash down off the Florida coast March 12 at 5:35 a.m. Eastern.
