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Did problems with Boeing’s Starliner delay SpaceX Crew 9 launch? The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Tuesday that it has decided to delay the agency’s Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by a month. The Crew 9 launch has now been delayed to September 24.
NASA hopes the move will give them more time to evaluate the readiness of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
“This adjustment will give mission managers more time to finalize return plans for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, which is currently docked to the orbiting lab,” a NASA press release said.
“Starliner ground teams are taking their time to analyze the results of the recent docked hot-fire test, finalize flight justification for the spacecraft’s integrated propulsion system, and verify system reliability before Starliner returns to Earth,” it said.
“NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate the spacecraft’s readiness, and no decisions have yet been made regarding Starliner’s return,” the release said.
The Starliner capsule carried two NASA astronauts – Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – to the ISS on June 6. Its return has been delayed due to anomalies detected in its propulsion system during the flight.
The mission was expected to return by mid-June. However, two months have already passed in space, and the mission’s return date is still uncertain.
The Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) is the first astronaut mission of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule.
It was widely speculated that the SpaceX Crew 9 launch would be delayed due to uncertainty over Starliner’s return from space. It is said that until either Starliner or Crew-8’s Dragon spacecraft departs the ISS, there is no free docking port on the ISS to accommodate the Crew-9 mission.
The SpaceX flight was scheduled to carry the next group of four ISS crew members, called Crew-9, in mid-August, who will replace the four members currently on the space station, called “Crew-8.”
The Crew-9 flight is now scheduled to fly as late as Sept. 24. It could bring back two astronauts — Williams and Wilmore, and only two Crew-8 members, giving Boeing more time to fix problems with its spacecraft.
#crew9 Launch Updates:
NASA and @SpaceX NET is targeted for the launch of the agency’s Crew-9 mission on Tuesday, Sept. 24. @space Station,
Information: pic.twitter.com/gqskUylORH
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) August 6, 2024
“NASA and SpaceX are targeting a launch for the agency’s Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station no earlier than Tuesday, September 24,” a press release from NASA said.
Starliner, which had a helium leak detected during its journey, could also return unmanned if safety issues are not resolved. NASA was planning a press conference on Wednesday to provide updates on both the Crew-9 and Starliner spacecraft.
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