Future Space
Boeing’s Starliner Faces New Challenges Ahead of Historic Crewed Mission. The highly anticipated launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, set to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS), is facing uncertainty due to ongoing technical issues. The mission, known as the Crew Flight Test (CFT), has been tentatively scheduled for June 1, but this date remains subject to change pending the resolution of a recent helium leak and other lingering concerns. Boeing’s Starliner program has faced numerous delays and setbacks since its inception in 2014, when NASA contracted the company, along with SpaceX, to provide commercial crew transportation services to the ISS. While SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has successfully flown multiple missions since 2020, Boeing’s Starliner has yet to carry astronauts, despite initial expectations of crewed flights by 2017.
Credit SpaceX Community