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Investing.com -- Boeing (NYSE:BA)’s Starliner capsule, which has already transported two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) last year, might need to undergo a third uncrewed test flight before it can transport astronauts again, according to NASA officials. This announcement was made as the spacecraft’s first crew had to return to Earth on a SpaceX capsule earlier this week.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who traveled to the ISS on Boeing’s crew capsule last year, returned to Earth on Tuesday in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. This was due to a lengthy process by Boeing to rectify Starliner’s malfunctioning propulsion system, which extended their eight-day test mission into a nine-month stay in space.
The issues experienced during Starliner’s inaugural crewed mission represent the latest, and most public, hurdle in Boeing’s challenging development of a spacecraft which has already cost the aerospace company more than $2 billion. The Starliner is intended to compete with SpaceX’s dominant Crew Dragon capsule and provide NASA with a second U.S. option for transporting its astronauts to low-Earth orbit.
However, before it can secure NASA’s much-anticipated certification for routine flights, the Starliner might need to undertake an additional uncrewed test mission. If required, this would be the fourth such mission, following two uncrewed tests conducted in 2019 and 2022.
Steve Stich, chief of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which oversees the development of Starliner, stated on Tuesday night, "We’re ... looking at some options for Starliner, should we need to, of flying it uncrewed. When we look forward, what we’d like to do is that one flight, and then get into a crew rotation flight." Stich added that all options would be considered once the testing and analysis have been completed.
Boeing has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Stich explained that Starliner’s crewed flight last year achieved some key testing milestones related to how astronauts command and fly the vehicle. He suggested that an extra uncrewed test would be necessary to confirm that its thrusters can function as intended in space, a condition that can’t be replicated in Earth-based tests.
Starliner’s first crewed mission was supposed to be its final test before it could start regular astronaut flights for NASA, which currently depends on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft.
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