NASA May Ask Boeing's Starliner To Do Third Uncrewed Test Flight

Photo : Reuters

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which faced serious problems last year, might have to do another test flight without astronauts before it carries people again. NASA shared this news after the spacecraft’s first crewed mission ended with the astronauts returning to Earth in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule this week.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Starliner in 2024, had to return in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule on Tuesday. This happened because Starliner had many technical problems. What was supposed to be an eight-day mission turned into a nine-month stay in space. The delay happened because Boeing had trouble fixing the spacecraft’s faulty thrusters.

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During the mission, Starliner’s thrusters failed five times while heading to the ISS. It also had helium leaks, which are needed to pressurize the thrusters. Because of these issues, NASA decided not to bring the astronauts back on the damaged capsule. Instead, they relied on SpaceX’s Dragon, which was safer.

Now, NASA says Starliner might need to do another test flight without people. This would be its fourth test mission, including the two earlier uncrewed flights in 2019 and 2022. The goal of this extra test would be to make sure the thrusters work properly in space. Ground tests cannot fully show how the thrusters will behave in real space conditions.

Steve Stich, who leads NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said the agency wants to make sure Starliner is safe before sending astronauts on it again. He explained that an extra uncrewed flight may be needed to check the fixes.

NASA and Boeing are also planning ground tests this summer to see if the new changes to the propulsion system work. If these tests are successful, the spacecraft might not need the extra uncrewed flight.

Boeing’s Starliner program has cost the company over $2 billion since 2016. The company has a $4.2 billion contract with NASA to develop and fly the spacecraft. However, due to the ongoing problems, the contract has grown by $326 million. So far, Boeing has received about $2.2 billion of that money.

While Boeing is still struggling, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has completed 11 astronaut missions for NASA since its first flight in 2020. SpaceX’s $3 billion contract with NASA has now grown to nearly $5 billion, as the agency added more missions due to Starliner’s delays.

Despite the problems, Boeing hopes that Starliner will still have a role in future space missions. The company plans to use it for private space station trips, which could help it earn money outside of NASA contracts.

However, Starliner’s future is still unsure. NASA has said Boeing has made good progress in fixing the issues, but the thruster failures are still a big problem. NASA’s safety team warned that these issues must be fully solved before Starliner can fly with astronauts again.

For now, Boeing is working on making the spacecraft safe. But with SpaceX’s Dragon already being a trusted and proven spacecraft, Starliner faces a tough challenge to become NASA’s second regular ride to space.