Finally, NASA announced the target date for the first crewed Starliner flight. This flight will be made with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The space agency aims to make its first crewed flight in April next year. However, it is too early to rejoice. This is just a target date. Therefore, we continue to wait for official confirmation of the detailed launch schedule.
NASA has marked the date on the calendar for the first crewed Starliner flight!
Boeing vice president and Starliner manager Mark Nappi said that the team aims to have the spacecraft ready in March. However, he did not mention a possible launch date at the time. This mission is very important for NASA. Because in the past, some missions did not go as expected. Boeing had a hard time getting the Starliner ready for its first crewed flight. The first unmanned test flight was planned for 2017. However, due to various problems, the program had to be postponed.
The capsule finally managed to go into space in 2019. Unfortunately, events got out of control. The capsule failed to reach the correct orbit to reach the International Space Station (ISS). The mission ended in failure despite all efforts. After 3 years of work, all problems were resolved. Starliner eventually arrived at the space station on an uncrewed test flight in 2022. There was only one test left. And that is the crewed journey, which is the main mission of this mission.
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Officials had hoped to launch the first crewed flight in April this year. However, due to various problems, the mission was postponed until July. Moreover, these postponements never stopped. NASA is pretty confident this time. However, considering what has happened before, the mission date may be postponed again.
NASA said in a post on its website on Thursday. “NASA’s first crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft, called the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), is planned no earlier than mid-April.” He stated: The space agency has begun tests to verify the capabilities of CFT’s Starliner system. NASA said it would send its astronauts and test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a demonstration flight.
If all goes well, the Starliner spacecraft will be launched atop the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The crew and spacecraft will make a parachute- and airbag-assisted desert landing in the western United States. He will spend about eight days on the space station before returning to Earth.