Boeing’s Starliner, snarled by snafus, delays launch (again)

Aviation giant Boeing might be king of the skies, but when it comes to space, it’s struggling to get off the ground.

Boeing announced at a NASA press conference on June 1 that it hit another snag in the development of its Starliner spacecraft that threatens to significantly impair its operational timeline.

Boeing said that the Starliner capsule was hit with a double whammy of issues. The first is related to the safety of its parachute system, which a subcontractor informed Boeing could fail at limits much lower than originally tested.

The second problem is with tape that is used throughout Starliner, which Boeing discovered to be flammable.

The snafus are a major setback for Starliner, which had its first crewed flight test scheduled for July 21, when it would take two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

These two issues delayed Starliner’s crewed flight test past its planned July launch (which was already delayed from April).

Boeing won nearly $5 billion in contracts to develop Starliner under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, but hasn’t successfully launched any of its contracted missions. (Competitor SpaceX, meanwhile, is on target to launch all six of its contracted NASA missions.)

And this isn’t the first time that Boeing’s Starliner program has encountered roadblocks.

Software malfunctions in 2019 affected its first uncrewed flight test and earlier this year, the company was looking to potentially redesign Starliner’s propulsion valves, which were identified as a problem last summer, and, when faulty, could affect the spacecraft’s movement.

So far, Starliner’s development has been marred by cost overruns, with Boeing stating in its Q2 2022 earnings that the program had cost nearly $700 million more than originally expected. That number has since increased to over $833 million.

Mark Nappi, Starliner manager and Boeing VP, said that Boeing is “still committed” to completing the work on Starliner, CNBC reported. But Boeing is running out of time to complete the missions before the ISS is decommissioned in 2030.

Nappi said it is “feasible” that Boeing could have a crewed flight test for Starliner in 2023 but didn’t commit to a timeline.