Boeing has suffered another setback after NASA renegotiated its agreement with the company. Under the new contract, on its next flight o the International Space Station (ISS), Boeing's Starliner capsule will carry only cargo and no crew.
Once the front-runner in the competition to build a new American spacecraft to carry cargo and astronauts to the space station, the Starliner program suffered and still suffers from a depressing list of setbacks and a financial loss to the company that exceeds US$2 billion.
It was originally scheduled to enter service in 2017 but its first flight was delayed until 2019, and the spacecraft has still to come even close to certification because each of the test flights has suffered significant problems, including thruster problems that caused two Boeing astronauts to be stranded on the station for eight months on the first crewed flight.
Now, under the new agreement, the continuing technical problems mean that the next Starliner flight will take place no sooner than April 2026 – and only after serious testing and recertification. Worse, the mission will carry no astronauts, only cargo.
To add insult to injury, NASA has also cut back the number of future Starliner visits to the ISS from six to four, including the next cargo flight, with only an option for the additional two. The agency also says that the primary reason for continuing with Starliner at this stage is to ensure redundancy in US capability to send astronauts to low Earth orbit.
“NASA and Boeing are continuing to rigorously test the Starliner propulsion system in preparation for two potential flights next year,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “This modification allows NASA and Boeing to focus on safely certifying the system in 2026, execute Starliner’s first crew rotation when ready, and align our ongoing flight planning for future Starliner missions based on [the] station's operational needs through 2030.”
Source: NASA
