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NASA to order more Starliner missions and help certify a new rocket to keep it flying
NASA will fund thruster fixes and certify Starliner on a new rocket as Boeing seeks two more crewed missions after a 2024 mishap.
- As early as next week, NASA will announce plans to order two more crewed Starliner missions from Boeing, cover part of the cost to fix thrusters, and provide support to certify the spacecraft's launch on a new rocket.
- Starliner experienced numerous issues on test flights in 2019 and 2022; thruster malfunctions nearly caused the loss of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore during the June 2024 crew test flight.
- NASA has paid Boeing $5.1 billion for development compared to approximately $3.1 billion for SpaceX; SpaceX President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell noted, "They should fly their capsule. The government paid a lot of money for that."
- Starliner currently launches aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket, but ULA plans to retire the booster after expending the six remaining units in its inventory, all assigned to Starliner missions.
- NASA needs a dependable way for astronauts to reach orbital outposts before the International Space Station retires around 2030, making commercial partner support critical despite the spacecraft's "Type A" mishap classification.
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NASA in talks for Boeing’s Starliner to handle new missions, WSJ reports
Sept 18 (Reuters) - NASA is in talks with Boeing about using the aerospace manufacturer’s Starliner vehicle to handle new missions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. (Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing b...
SpaceX is decommissioning the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and so NASA will likely have to use Boeing's troubled Starliner.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources16
Leaning Left1Leaning Right2Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Center, 40% Right
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources are Center, 40% of the sources lean Right
40% Right
L 20%
C 40%
R 40%
Factuality
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