Boeing targets launch date for Starliner spacecraft carrying crew

The Atlas V rocket carrying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lifts off from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA on May 19, 2022 (file photo)

The first manned flight of the Starliner spacecraft has been delayed several times, with the most recent scheduled for July 21, but ultimately unable to take place due to technical problems.

In an announcement on August 7, Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi, who is also the Starliner Project Director, stated: "Based on current plans, we anticipate that the spacecraft will be ready for launch in early March." He also noted that the specific time for the Starliner spacecraft launch will have to be compared with other events in space activities, as well as the results of discussions with NASA and United Launch Alliance - the company that provides the Atlas V rocket for Starliner.

In 2014, NASA signed contracts worth $4.2 billion with Boeing and $2.6 billion with SpaceX to fly crews to the ISS, shortly after the Space Shuttle program ended. Previously, the US relied on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to ferry people to the ISS.

To date, the Starliner spacecraft has made two uncrewed flights. NASA is moving forward with the final process of certifying Starliner as a second “taxi” service for its astronauts to the ISS. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been providing this service, and most recently, in May, the company’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft safely returned its crew to Earth after a five-month scientific mission on the ISS.

According to VNA