Boeing has again delayed the first manned flight of its Starliner space capsule due to the discovery of new technical problems, the company said Thursday. The troubled CST-100 Starliner program has experienced several delays but was finally expected to send astronauts on a test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 21.
During testing, Boeing engineers identified new problems related to a faulty parachute system and a wiring harness strap used on various parts of the capsule that, under certain conditions, may be flammable.
After internal consideration, they decided to suspend the test flight and report the new problems to the US space agency, which had contracted Boeing to provide cab service to the ISS.
Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and program manager, told reporters that they had decided to suspend preparation of the Crewed Flight Mission (CFT) to correct these problems. A new launch date for the mission has not yet been set.
Boeing had planned to conduct its first manned flight of the CST-100 Starliner in 2022. Finally, in May 2022, the company succeeded in reaching the ISS for the first time, but without a crew on board.
In 2014, NASA awarded contracts worth $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX for trips to the ISS.