Boeing postpones first manned Starliner spaceflight – 6/1/2023 – Science

Boeing will halt final preparations for its first manned Starliner test flight into space, scheduled for July, after discovering two critical safety issues with the spacecraft, a company official said Thursday.

Boeing discovered flammable tape material and problems with the spacecraft’s parachute lines during engineering reviews last week, as engineers planned a launch for the spacecraft on July 21, said Mark Nappi, the company’s Starliner program manager.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has made two short trips to space, but has yet to carry astronauts.

The decision to “cancel” the test mission scheduled for July 21, which would carry two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), was taken Thursday morning by Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun during a meeting with other executives, Nappi said.

“Boeing unanimously decided that this is something we needed to fix,” he said, adding that it was too early to predict a new launch date. “We can say that we are disappointed because it means a delay, but the team is proud to have made the right decisions.”