{"id":18101,"date":"2019-04-04T01:51:10","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T17:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/uncrewed-flight-of-boeings-starliner-space-taxi-delayed-crewed-flight-to-be-extended\/"},"modified":"2019-04-04T01:51:10","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T17:51:10","slug":"uncrewed-flight-of-boeings-starliner-space-taxi-delayed-crewed-flight-to-be-extended","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/uncrewed-flight-of-boeings-starliner-space-taxi-delayed-crewed-flight-to-be-extended\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncrewed flight of Boeing\u2019s Starliner space taxi delayed; crewed flight to be extended"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Starliner
Technicians at the Boeing Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif., position a Starliner spaceship inside an acoustic test chamber. (Boeing Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA today confirmed that the first uncrewed test flight of Boeing\u2019s Starliner space taxi to the International Space Station would be delayed until at least August, and also said the first crewed flight would be extended into a long-duration mission.<\/p>\n

In a news release, NASA said August was a \u201cworking date\u201d that would have to be confirmed later, based on further testing of the spacecraft.<\/p>\n

NASA said the decision to shift the date was guided by limited launch opportunities during the previously planned April-May time frame, as well as planning requirements for the launch of the AEHF-5 military communications satellite for the Air Force in June.<\/p>\n

Boeing\u2019s first crewed test flight of the Starliner to the space station was reset for no earlier than late 2019.<\/p>\n

Both the uncrewed Orbital Flight Test and the Crew Flight Test are to be launched atop United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets. Between those two flights, Boeing is slated to conduct a pad abort test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to demonstrate the Starliner\u2019s capability to carry the crew to safety in the event of a launch pad emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain diligent, with a safety-first culture,\u201d said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for Boeing\u2019s Commercial Crew Program. \u201cWhile we have already made substantial progress this year, this shift gives us the time to continue building a safe, quality spacecraft capable of carrying crews over and over again after a successful uncrewed test, without adding unnecessary schedule pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

SpaceX sent its Crew Dragon spaceship on its initial uncrewed flight to the space station last month, and is due to conduct an in-flight abort test in June. If current schedules hold, SpaceX\u2019s first crewed flight would send two NASA astronauts to the station and back in July, months before Boeing can do so.<\/p>\n

NASA said it would work with SpaceX to re-evaluate those target test dates over the next couple of weeks.<\/p>\n