According to officials at NASA, Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which encountered issues during its mission to the International Space Station last year, may require a third uncrewed test flight before it can transport astronauts again. Following the return of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a SpaceX capsule this week, concerns have arisen about the reliability of Starliner’s propulsion system. Despite their successful journey to the ISS, technical problems on Starliner’s debut crewed mission have raised doubts about the spacecraft’s readiness for future missions.
Boeing, which has invested over $2 billion in Starliner’s development, faces competition from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Crew Dragon capsule in providing NASA with transportation to low-Earth orbit. To attain NASA certification for regular flights, Starliner may need to complete an additional uncrewed test mission, bringing the total to four tests overall. While the recent crewed flight achieved important testing objectives, concerns remain about the performance of Starliner’s thrusters in space conditions.
In light of the propulsion system issues encountered on the previous mission, Boeing is planning ground tests this summer to validate its proposed fixes. The company’s contract with NASA, initially valued at $4.2 billion, has seen additional costs of $326 million since 2014. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has completed 11 successful astronaut missions for NASA, highlighting the competitive landscape in commercial crew transportation services.
This includes a crewed test flight in 2020. The original $3 billion NASA contract awarded to SpaceX in 2014, similar to Starliner’s contract, has now increased to almost $5 billion. This growth is mostly due to additional missions that NASA has included to account for delays in Starliner’s development. (Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Sandra Maler)
