NASA Grounds Boeing Starliner Until 2026 After Test Flight Failures

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner, a crew capsule for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, has been tormented by persistent issues. Its first crewed take a look at flight in June 2024 was minimize brief by technical failures, together with helium pressurization leaks and a number of thruster malfunctions. NASA in the end elected to return Starliner to Earth with out its crew, retaining the astronauts aboard the station for security. With these issues unresolved, NASA now says the capsule will stay grounded till round 2026, and its subsequent mission will seemingly be uncrewed.

Technical Setbacks and Grounding

According to NASA, During its June 2024 Crew Flight Test, Starliner suffered severe propulsion points. Multiple helium leaks have been detected within the service module’s pressurization system, and 5 of the capsule’s 28 fine-control thrusters failed throughout strategy to the ISS. NASA and Boeing prolonged the crew’s station keep whereas engineers traced the issues to thermal and seal failures within the thruster “doghouse” enclosures.

Ultimately NASA determined to carry Starliner again to Earth empty, concluding the take a look at with out its astronauts aboard. Boeing and NASA have since carried out in depth floor testing to validate fixes: engineers at NASA’s White Sands facility are firing thrusters in different sequences to refine thermal fashions, and Boeing has added new insulation shunts and thermal limitations within the thruster housings to forestall overheating.

Future of the Starliner Program

Boeing’s delays have reshaped NASA’s Commercial Crew plans. NASA officers say Starliner might even fly another uncrewed take a look at earlier than carrying astronauts. Starliner improvement is now billions over finances: its authentic $4.2 billion contract has grown by roughly $2 billion in further prices. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has flown 11 ISS crew missions and its NASA contract has climbed towards $5 billion amid further flights added whereas Starliner lagged. NASA nonetheless views Starliner as a essential backup to Dragon and goals to certify it for crew rotations by late 2025 or early 2026.