Boeing Looks for Starliner Fixes Despite Costs, ISS Age
UNITED STATES, JUL 16 – NASA aims for a Boeing Starliner cargo mission in 2026 while addressing thruster and helium leak issues, maintaining dual spacecraft access to low Earth orbit, agency officials said.
- Despite the ISS’s upcoming retirement, NASA and Boeing confirmed major Starliner delays, with Steve Stich saying they remain committed despite the 2030 timeline.
- Amid early plans for a 2025 operational flight, NASA deemed Starliner unfit to return its crew and turned to Dragon, delaying the mission.
- During a July 10 briefing, Steve Stich said Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne are adding new seals, thermal shunts and barriers to address helium leaks and prevent thruster overheating.
- The agency has enough Dragon spacecraft booked for Crew-10 in March and Crew-11 in July, securing flights into 2028 while aiming for two providers.
- Steve Stich said `We really are working toward a flight as soon as early next year with Starliner`, as upcoming test results will shape its role on future commercial space stations.
13 Articles
13 Articles
If You Thought Your Life Was a Mess, Spare a Thought for Boeing's Starliner
Even after pouring $2 billion into its much-maligned Starliner spacecraft, NASA and Boeing remain committed to getting back off the ground. As Ars Technica reports, the head of NASA's commercial crew program, Steve Stich, revealed last week that Boeing and its propulsion supplier, Aerojet Rocketdyne, are making considerable changes to the astronaut shuttle following a disastrous first crewed mission to the International Space Station last year. …
'Doghouse' days of summer — Boeing's Starliner won't fly again until 2026, and without astronauts aboard
NASA and Boeing are still working on the thruster issues that Starliner experienced on its first crewed flight last year, and the spacecraft's next mission will likely launch without astronauts.
NASA Grounds Boeing Starliner Until 2026 After Test Flight Failures
NASA has grounded Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner until at least 2026 following critical malfunctions during its June 2024 crewed test flight. The mission was cut short due to multiple thruster failures and helium pressurization leaks. NASA decided to bring Starliner back to Earth empty, leaving the astronauts on the ISS for safety. Engineers traced the issues to thermal damage in thruster housings and are now testing fixes, including added insulatio…
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