NASA planning next Boeing Starliner test flight after astronauts' return
Source: ABC News
March 20, 2025, 5:23 PM
Despite Boeing Starliner's last crewed mission extending from eight days to over nine months due to capsule issues, NASA is examining what future launches for the aerospace giant will look like.
During a press briefing after the successful splashdown of the SpaceX Dragon Freedom -- which carried Starliner crew members Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore home from the International Space Station this week -- NASA officials said the agency is strategizing the next test flight for the Starliner.
Commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said the Starliner will first have a test flight without crews onboard before the vehicle is used again for crewed missions. "What we'd like to do is that one flight and then get into a crew rotation flight," Stich said Wednesday.
"So, the next flight up would really test all the changes we're making to the vehicle, and then the next flight beyond that, we really need to get Boeing into a crew rotation. So, that's the strategy," he said.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/nasa-planning-boeing-starliner-test-flight-after-astronauts/story?id=119999352
(Boeing would be the alternative to SpaceX and using Russia's Soyuz program - still hoping they can get their act together)
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