Boeing’s Starliner capsule has a new date for a crewed test flight on 1 June 2024, around a year and a half after its original due date.
If the Starliner launch goes ahead on 1 June, it will be aboard an Atlas-V rocket, made by United Launch Alliance – the partnership between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Back up dates on 2 June, 5 June and 6 June are also being considered.
A re-usable spacecraft that can carry seven people, the Starliner is designed to deliver teams to low Earth orbit and bring them back. The craft has already successfully completed a non-crewed mission in 2022, when it docked to the International Space Station and came back. A crewed mission was then planned for the start of 2023 but has been pushed back several times, most recently due to a faulty valve in the rocket’s upper stage and a helium leak.
According to Boeing’s website, when serving NASA missions, the Starliner can carry up to four astronauts, plus “time-critical” scientific research. It is equipped with wi-fi and tablet technology. Its weldless structure can withstand up to 10 launches, with a six month lead in time for each.
For the first crewed launch, commanding the craft will be “Butch” Barry E. Wilson, a retired US Navy captain recruited by NASA in 2000, who now has clocked up over 200 days in space as a pilot, Flight Engineer and Commander.
Alongside him, Sunita L. Williams will pilot the mission. It will be her third time aboard the International Space Station. An astronaut since 1998, Williams has amassed 322 days in space and holds second place in the ranking for cumulative space walk time by a female (50 hours and 40 minutes).
The pair remain in quarantine, awaiting the outcome of checks, amounting to “a great deal of exceptional analysis and testing over the last two weeks by the joint NASA, Boeing, and ULA teams to replace the Centaur Self Regulating Valve and troubleshoot the Starliner Service Module helium manifold leak,” according to Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager.
“It has been important that we take our time to understand all the complexities of each issue including the redundant capabilities of the Starliner propulsion system and any implications to our Interim Human Rating Certification,” Stich explained. “We will launch Butch and Suni on this test mission after the entire community has reviewed the team’s progress and flight rationale at the upcoming Delta Agency Flight Test Readiness Review.”
