The second test flight was to be conducted with no people aboard by the American Boeing company which was all set for another demonstration mission of its new astronaut capsule
The Boeing’s Starliner launch has been delayed yet again, as engineers found an unexpected issue with Starliner’s propulsion system. Due to technical reasons, the launch plan had to be postponed again.
The second test flight was to be conducted with no people aboard by the American Boeing company which was all set for another demonstration mission of its new astronaut capsule.
To be launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, CST-100 Starliner on an Atlas-5 rocket, it intended to showcase how it can ferrying crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
It may be recalled that a demonstration run in 2019, almost came into loss of the capsule after it had software problems.
A demonstration run in 2019 almost came into loss of the capsule after it had software problems
Controllers had earlier scheduled Friday last week for the launch, but a mishap involving a newly installed Russian module on the ISS caused this delay.
Boeing first presented its design for the CST-100 Starliner 10 years back at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK. However, as the deadline is approaching for soon-to-retire space shuttles, commercial companies have called for low-Earth orbit crew transportation responsibility to be taken over by Boeing.
Boeing and the SpaceX company were both given technical and financial support by the US space agency (Nasa) to help them develop new capsules. The requirement was for engaging vehicles on a commercial basis whenever Nasa needed astronauts sent up to the ISS.
After the last unsuccessful mission, it came to light that poorly designed software could have resulted in the capsule colliding with its aft service section when the two were commanded to separate just before re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Finally, the capsule landed safely in the New Mexico desert.
