NASA, Boeing Confirm Starliner's Delay to February 2023

The NASA Boeing Starliner is set to face another delay as technical issues continue to affect its overall system. It might take some months or years before the technicians fix the problem in its interior.

The international space agency confirmed that the spacecraft wouldn't be flying this year. The latest press release suggested that its take-off will take place sometime in early 2023.

NASA Boeing Starliner to be Delayed Once Again

The supposedly first crewed mission by Boeing has been facing several hiccups since the spacecraft is not yet 100% ready for the upcoming flight.

Originally, the Starliner was scheduled to be launched in late 2022, but since the major problems are still existing, NASA and Boeing decided to push back its flight once again.

According to a report by CNN, the uncrewed test flight which happened last May has given the go signal for the agencies to halt the spacecraft's operations temporarily.

"Currently, we're targeting a launch date as early as February of 2023," NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich announced during the press release on Aug. 25.

The Issues on the Starliner Spacecraft

According to the officials who showed up during the latest call, the uncrewed test flight has shown several problems with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

One major issue is the inability of the thrusters to switch on. Aside from that, they also discovered that it's also struggling with software problems.

Despite these issues, the test mission showed no signs of wearing down. No serious underlying impacts were observed at that time, especially when it managed to reach the ISS and got back to the planet.

However, the officials still treated it as an urgent matter. With that being said, there's a need to fix these technical problems before the next crewed exploration kicks off.

Possible Timeframe of Boeing's Flight

In a report by Space.com, the potential launch date of the NASA-Boeing spacecraft could likely fall as early as February 2023. If the plan goes smoothly in the next few months, the crewed missions will be carried out for the next ISS operation.

For those unfamiliar with Boeing, this multinational company is known for manufacturing, designing, and selling airplanes, missiles, and other telecommunication equipment. Its work might be similar to SpaceX in case you already heard about it.

Last year, Tech Times reported that the Starliner's delayed launch was attributed to the effects of humidity. This was the reason why the spacecraft's valves were corroded.

The aerospace competition is not all about NASA and Boeing alone. Several countries, including China and Russia, are slowly catching up with this trend.

However, the USA and Russia still share ride-sharing agreements, which involve allowing both the astronauts and cosmonauts to engage in space exploration.

It's interesting to know that this collaboration is miraculously happening despite the geopolitical issue between the two countries.

Next year, NASA will send a pair of astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, for the upcoming Starliner mission a few months from now.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry