The second flight for the Boeing Starliner is now officially confirmed by NASA and the company, but this time, there will be no astronauts on board as the space agency has tasked it with bringing cargo only.
The decision came after the disastrous first launch of the Boeing Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT), which saw multiple problems in transit to the International Space Station and on its return to the planet.
Boeing Starliner’s 2nd Flight Next Year Will Be Cargo-Only
NASA shared news about the Starliner’s fate, and the good news is that it will continue to be operational to serve its contract for the space agency’s Commercial Crew program, with Boeing still leading the mission.
However, the national space agency modified the contract it has with Boeing, making the change from six crewed missions to only four, and NASA notes that two of these would be exercised as an option.
With this, NASA also announced the second flight of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft coming “no earlier than April 2026,” but this time, the space agency designated it as a cargo-only mission. This means that Boeing would not have any human astronaut passengers on board the Starliner on the “Starliner-1” mission.
According to NASA, Boeing’s upcoming Starliner-1 mission would implement the changes and improvements to the spacecraft, allowing an in-flight validation of the system upgrades from the Crew Flight Test mission last June. This means that NASA will continue to validate if Boeing has applied the improvements to the Starliner despite it already launching for its mission proper.
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NASA, Boeing Are Gearing Up for Starliner’s 2nd Flight
NASA and Boeing are focusing on gearing up for the Starliner’s second flight to space, marking this as the first official mission of the spacecraft after it faced grave issues in its maiden crewed voyage.
The Starliner CFT mission last year saw astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams face issues as they approached the space station with helium leaks, but they successfully docked.
The duo of Wilmore and Williams saw an extended stay on the ISS that was not part of the Starliner CFT’s plans, with the spacecraft itself undergoing different simulations and tests to bring it home.
NASA and Boeing then agreed to only send the spacecraft home in September 2024 after its evaluation, with the astronauts not seeing land until March 2025.
According to NASA, the Starliner-1 mission would undergo rigorous testing, certification, and mission readiness activities before the actual flight takes place in April 2026.
NASA Commercial Crew Manager Steven Sich said, “NASA and Boeing are continuing to rigorously test the Starliner propulsion system in preparation for two potential flights next year.”
Boeing’s contract with NASA for the Starliner missions would be spread out in the coming years, based on the space station’s operational needs through 2030.
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