CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — On Monday, Boeing and NASA updated the progress of the first crewed flight test for the Boeing Starliner.
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Channel 9′s Melonie Holt monitored today’s update.
The update revealed that the long-delayed spacecraft won’t be ready to fly until at least March 2024.
However, no exact date for the launch has been set.
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NASA and Boeing said they have made considerable progress over the last few weeks, but teams still have a lot of work to do.
They are still removing the flammable tape used throughout the spacecraft, and additional testing on the spacecraft’s parachutes will not happen until this fall.
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NASA and Boeing are still working toward the first crewed flight test to the International Space Station for the company’s Starliner spacecraft with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
What also was learned during the update was teams are 98 percent complete with the certifications for the spacecraft.
It’s that two percent that will determine when Suni and Butch fly.
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“I will tell you that the team has made a tremendous amount of progress since we last spoke back in early June,” said Steve Stich, Manager NASA’s commercial crew program.”
“We’ve learned a lot about the various issues with P213. tape and also the soft links on the parachutes.”
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However, teams are concerned about the flammability of the tape used around wire harnesses on the spacecraft. The soft link was redesigned.
“We’re anticipating that for the final there are three chutes and the final chute will be delivered around the beginning of December.,” said Mark Nappi, Vice President and Program Manager for CST 100 Starliners at Boeing. “We expect that the drop test will occur in mid to late November.”
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Parachute testing is critical to the path forward for the crewed flight test.
Nappi said, “We’re anticipating that we’re going to be ready with the spacecraft in early March. That does not mean that we have a launch date in early March.”
“That means that we are ready with the spacecraft and then,” said Nappi.
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NASA and Boeing’s leadership also expressed their commitment to a successful crew flight test and eventual operational missions to the international space station (ISS) continues.
Launch delays have already cost Boeing in excess of One billion dollars.
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