space travel
Manned ISS test with “Starliner” no earlier than 2023
A team from Boeing and NASA is working on the CST-100 “Starliner” spacecraft after a test flight in the US state of New Mexico. photo
© Bill Ingalls/NASA/dpa
If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft is expected to transport astronauts to the International Space Station from February as an alternative to SpaceX’s “Crew Dragon” space capsule.
After a successful unmanned test flight to the International Space Station in May, the “Starliner” spacecraft developed by Boeing on behalf of the US space agency Nasa is scheduled to fly to the ISS with astronauts on board for the first time in February 2023 at the earliest. A date in early February is currently being targeted, said Nasa manager Steve Stich at a press conference on Thursday. However, that could still change. “We’ll fly when we’re ready.”
In May, the “Starliner” completed a successful flight to the ISS for the first time and spent four days there – an important test for the crisis-ridden spacecraft. In the future, it will transport astronauts to the ISS as an alternative to SpaceX’s “Crew Dragon” space capsule. However, the project is well behind schedule due to a number of issues.