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The United States space agency NASA and aerospace manufacturer Boeing have agreed to reduce the number of space flights to be carried out by astronauts via the company’s Starliner capsules from six to four, according to multiple reports.
Reuters reported that NASA said in its statement that the original $4.5 billion contract awarded to Boeing under the agency’s Commercial Crew program has been modified, keeping the final two flights out of the original six as optional.
A Boeing representative had no immediate comment when contacted by Bloomberg.
Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore left stranded in final Boeing mission
Eight months after the first and only Starliner crew returned to Earth following problems with the capsule following a lengthy mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA announced on Nov. 24 that the deal had been cut short, the AP reports.
NASA pilots Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were stranded on the ISS and had to return on a SpaceX flight nine months later, after the Boeing Starliner had a lot of problems, it was ordered to return to Earth empty.
What’s next for the Boeing Starliner project?
Since then, reports say engineers have been working on resolving issues with Starliner’s thrusters, propulsion system and other technical faults that caused trouble during previous missions.
“NASA and Boeing are rigorously testing the Starliner propulsion system in preparation for two potential flights next year,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said in a statement.
The next planned mission, Starliner-1, is not scheduled before April 2026 and will be a cargo test for the ISS. The AP reports that it is still pending additional testing and certification before it can be confirmed. If the cargo mission is successful, NASA will plan crewed flight missions with Starliner before the ISS is retired in 2030.
The unmanned test is the third for Boeing and cost the company more than $2 billion since 2016, Reuters reports.
NASA signed contracts with both Boeing and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2014. The SpaceX contract was worth $2.6 billion and it completed its first astronaut mission for NASA in 2020 — bringing it to 12 missions for NASA by summer 2025, the AP reports.
(with inputs from agencies)
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