The attempt to Boeing to take astronauts into space has suffered a new delay. Their collaboration with NASA on the Starliner mission has experienced delays, delaying plans to send astronauts beyond Earth orbit until at least March 2024which gives advantage to SpaceX in the space race.
Initially, the astronauts were scheduled to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Starliner cone capsule on July 21, as part of NASA’s commercial human flight program. However, this date passed without any release.
As announced by Boeing and NASA at a recent press conference, there will be no crewed flights until at least March 2024.
Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and Starliner program manager, said that based on current plans, the ship is expected to be ready by early March 2024. The final launch date will depend on space calendar restrictions and will be decided in collaboration with NASA and the United Launch Alliance, supplier of the Atlas V rocket for Starliner.
In accordance with Digital Aviation, Boeing has faced technical challenges in the most recent tests. Problems with the parachute system and with a band of harness cables have led to the need for critical repairs that will not be completed until later this year. These obstacles have led to a delay in the launch of the capsule.
SpaceX, ahead
By comparison, SpaceX, the space company led by Elon Musk, seems to be ahead of the curve. The company has carried out several manned missions, while Starliner has completed only two uncrewed test missions.. Although the first mission, OFT, ran into problems in 2019, the next one, OFT-2 in 2022, was successful.
The competition between Boeing and SpaceX in the aerospace arena is notable. In 2014, NASA selected both companies to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. While SpaceX has carried out multiple crewed missions, Boeing has faced challenges in meeting its contractual commitments..
The landscape of the aerospace industry is evolving with the emergence of companies such as SpaceX, which are producing more compact and cheaper satellites for placement in low Earth orbit. This has impacted the demand for larger and more expensive satellites, such as those produced by Boeing.