August 02, 2018
As expected, the first major test flights for Boeing and SpaceX’s new passenger spacecraft have been delayed again. Following an engine test mishap, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will likely perform two crucial test flights next year, instead of this year as planned. Meanwhile, SpaceX still aims to fly its Crew Dragon for the first time later this year without people on board, followed by its first crewed flight in April 2019.
Boeing and SpaceX delay first crucial test flights of new passenger spacecraft again
Boeing and SpaceX are both developing spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, an initiative to send humans to the ISS on private US spacecraft. Boeing is developing the CST-100 Starliner, which is meant to carry seven passengers and travel to space on top of an Atlas V rocket manufactured by the United Launch Alliance. SpaceX is updating its Dragon cargo capsule to carry seven crew, and it will fly on top of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. Before the vehicles are considered operational, NASA wants them to conduct both uncrewed and crewed flight tests of the capsules to see if they’re ready for regular trips to the station.
According to the most recent timeline, the Starliner was scheduled to take flight for the first time without a crew in August, followed by a crewed launch in November. Boeing now expects the vehicle to do its uncrewed test flight either later this year or in early 2019, according to a press call with reporters on Wednesday afternoon. Then, the first crewed test will occur in mid-2019. Additionally, Boeing was going to do another type of test at the end of this summer to try out the Starliner’s pad abort system, a setup that is meant to keep future passengers safe in case something goes wrong on the launchpad. Embedded underneath the spacecraft are four engines that can ignite and propel the Starliner far away from a malfunctioning rocket. Testing out this system won’t happen until spring 2019 now, after the uncrewed test flight.
Much of the delay seems to stem from a recent engine failure that occurred during a test in June. Boeing was conducting a test fire of the Starliner’s launch abort engines. Boeing says the engines ignited just fine. Yet during shutdown, several of the engine valves failed to close, leading to a propellant leak. There was no damage to the hardware being tested, and no one was injured. Boeing says that it is conducting an investigation into what happened and is making changes.
“We have a dedicated team of both ourselves and the contractor working diligently on those corrective actions,” John Mulholland, the vice president and program manager for Starliner, said during the press call today. He said that Boeing will employ both design and operational changes to make sure those valves fully close.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is also flying later than planned. Since January, SpaceX has been scheduled to do the first uncrewed test flight of its Crew Dragon in August, followed by a crewed flight in December. Now, the uncrewed test flight is slated for November 2018, and SpaceX is targeting the crewed flight for April. If these schedules hold, SpaceX seems to have a slight edge of sending people to the International Space Station before Boeing.
When asked how Boeing’s schedule might compare to SpaceX’s, Mulholland said the company is really only focused on its own timeline. “I really have no visibility into SpaceX progress or the fidelity of the SpaceX schedule,” Mulholland said. “Our entire focus is... to make sure we do everything we can to ensure a safe vehicle and meeting the schedule parameters that I’ve laid out.”
Boeing and SpaceX delay first crucial test flights of new passenger spacecraft again
Delays were expected for the Commercial Crew program even before Boeing’s mishap occurred. Multiple reports from the Government Accountability Office predicted that the milestone flights for the program would fall behind. The GAO anticipates that SpaceX’s vehicle won’t be certified until December 2019 and Boeing’s vehicle won’t until February 2020. It’s unclear if Boeing’s failure will change the GAO’s assessment of the Commercial Crew timeline. But Boeing claims that its test program is 80 percent complete at this point.
In the midst of these updates, NASA also plans to announce the crew assignments for the first Commercial Crew flights this Friday, August 3rd. Now we know that those crews definitely won’t be flying this year.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Millie Bobby Brown & Jake Bongiovi Celebrate “Three Years of Bliss” Ahead of Wedding
March 24, 2024
C4Ehegcq1-A
Kate Middleton & Prince William "Enormously Touched" by Public Support
March 24, 2024
s8fig-RCjFc
Gisele Bündchen Denies Cheating on Ex-Husband Tom Brady
March 23, 2024
_SpRMagA8BM
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
'Everybody Was S----ing Their Pants': Nick Thune Jokes About Being Born in the '70s and Fatherhood
March 16, 2024
mm7Baf6o2d8
Gunna Says Tour Will Up Creativity in Rap, Endorses Flo Milli | TMZ
March 22, 2024
QfMU24fw-Qo
Reporter Taylor Lorenz Says Palace Botched Kate Cancer News Rollout | TMZ Live
March 22, 2024
o43ZucdiyEo
Riley Strain's Body Found After Going Missing in Nashville 2 Weeks Ago | TMZ NOW
March 22, 2024
1m1zM-4_Cs8
Kyle Richards hasn’t spoken to co-star Dorit Kemsley, denies sending her a ‘manipulative’ text
March 24, 2024
LqLZzDP1hm4
Jordan Emanuel on her connection to 'RHOSLC' star Meredith Marks, advice from Amanda Batula
March 24, 2024
5NPAwlOov1Y
Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary apologizes after slamming ‘fickle’ Meghan Markle in scathing interview
March 24, 2024
JWG9kitALZk
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SK Brann W - Barcelona W
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Hacken W - PSG W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SL Benfica W - Lyon W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Ajax W - Chelsea W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Brighton - Manchester City
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.