NASA Delays Boeing Starliner Test Flight Because of Parachutes, Moves to Later in July

NASA and Boeing delays the Starliner's supposed test flight with its crew to later in July, to bring the astronauts to the International Space Station, as part of its joint mission. This is under the famed NASA Commercial Crew, a program that partners and delegates flights to the ISS via private space companies like SpaceX and Boeing.

Reports claim that several glitches need ironing out, including several concerns about its parachutes, which Boeing already tested to be working as intended.

NASA, Boeing Delays Starliner's Supposed Test Flight to the ISS

In a recent tweet by the NASA Commercial Crew, the team announced that the CST-100 Boeing Starliner sees a delay for its Crew Flight Test (CFT) toward ISS no earlier than July 21. It was supposedly bringing two NASA astronauts to the orbiting space station, Suni Williams and Barry "Butch" Willmore.

According to Boeing's Starliner Updates, the team will take this opportunity to check out verification items and give way to the busy schedule of the many spacecraft heading toward the space station.

This new Crew Flight Test will ensure the capabilities of the Starliner to bring astronauts toward its destinations like the ISS, and NASA also aims to test ULA's Atlas V launch rocket alongside this.

Taking this Time to Complete Certifications, Ensure All Systems

Ars Technica reported that NASA Commercial Crew Program's manager, Steve Stich, claimed on a teleconference with reporters that it is ensuring the certifications of the parachute system on the Starliner. The report claimed that Boeing already tested out its parachutes 20 times in different situations to ensure it is working well, having no issues found with them while testing.

NASA and Boeing's Starliner for Commercial Crew

Back in May last year, Boeing's Starliner achieved a significant milestone on its mission, and it successfully reached orbit without any problems, also en route to the ISS.

This achievement was eight years in the making, and it took a long time for the company to finally push amidst the growing space race against other companies.

Before its successful launch last year, the Starliner spacecraft met various problems with its propulsion system, particularly with valves not letting up and refusing to open. These valves have been the problem for a long time, as there were several supposed flights that the Starliner handed over to SpaceX and other companies as part of the Commercial Crew, as it continued its malfunction.

Boeing Starliner already achieved a significant milestone for its successful flight in 2022, but this year, it still faced several delays since its supposed launch last February for various reasons. Now, the target date of April to bring astronauts to the ISS via its CFT is yet again seeing a delay, now moving to later this summer season, by July.