The Briefing Room

General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Space => Topic started by: Elderberry on February 06, 2019, 10:21:45 pm

Title: NASA again delays Boeing's, SpaceX's first flights of commercial crew program
Post by: Elderberry on February 06, 2019, 10:21:45 pm
Houston Chronicle 2/6/2019 by Alex Stuckey

NASA has again delayed Boeing's and SpaceX's first test flights of the commercial crew program -- which will launch humans from American soil for the first time since 2011 -- by one month.

The announcement, posted on the agency's website Wednesday, says the delays were needed to "allow for completion of necessary hardware testing, data verification, remaining NASA and provider reviews, as well as training of flight controllers and mission managers."

SpaceX's flight now is scheduled for March 2 after being bumped twice from the originally planned Jan. 17. Boeing's flight has been pushed back to April, from its original March timeline.

Wednesday's delay represents yet another setback for the commercial crew program, which has struggled to get off the ground since SpaceX and Boeing were tapped in 2014 to build commercial vehicles that can transport NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/nation-world/space/article/NASA-delays-Boeing-SpaxeX-s-first-flights-of-13594258.php (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/nation-world/space/article/NASA-delays-Boeing-SpaxeX-s-first-flights-of-13594258.php)