2023-08-07 21:11:13
– Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft should be ready in March 2024
Boeing has yet to reveal a take-off date for its Starliner spacecraft, which is expected to be ready next March after numerous issues.
Published: 07.08.2023, 23:11
Boeing had hoped to be able to carry out a first manned flight as early as 2022, but successive postponements have accumulated.
AFP
After encountering numerous problems, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft should be ready in March for a first manned flight to the International Space Station, the company said Monday, but no takeoff date has yet been announced. was further advanced.
“Right now, we expect to be ready with the spacecraft in early March,” Boeing program manager Mark Nappi told a news conference. “That doesn’t mean we have a take-off date in early March,” he said.
This will have to be determined later according to the possibilities of ULA, the industrial group which provides the rocket responsible for launching the spacecraft, and places on board the International Space Station (ISS), he said. NASA astronauts have been transported to the ISS since 2020 thanks to SpaceX ships. But the American space agency wants to have a second service provider.
Two separate issues
After a failed flight in 2019, the Boeing capsule managed to reach the ISS in May 2022 – without a crew on board. It must now perform a final manned test to be certified, and begin its operational flights. Boeing had hoped to be able to carry out this first manned flight as early as 2022, but successive postponements have accumulated. The latest, announced in June, was related to two separate issues.
The first concerned the parachutes used to brake the capsule during its return to Earth. Part of the link between the capsule and the parachute had turned out to be more fragile than expected. The design has been modified, and a test will be conducted in November. Its success is imperative for the progress of the program.
The second problem concerned the adhesive tape used to wrap electrical cables inside the capsule. It was eventually determined that this could be flammable in this application, and therefore posed a risk.
Two NASA astronauts
A large amount has since been removed, and continues to be removed. For some areas where removing it was too difficult, other techniques were used, such as adding a protective layer, detailed Mark Nappi. “The Starliner vehicle remains a high priority for the space station program,” NASA program manager Joel Montalbano said Monday.
Starliner’s first manned flight is to take two NASA astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, to the ISS, where they will stay for about a week. The launch is to be from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
AFP
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