Florida Today by Jamie Groh 10/16/2023
Boeing's first Starliner test flight with crew on board has been pushed back by another month, according to the latest update to NASA's roster of astronaut missions to and from the International Space Station through 2025.
In an August update, Boeing said that the Starliner capsule for the Crew Flight Test would be ready for launch by March of next year, with Starliner's first operational mission slated to follow by the end of 2024. NASA's latest shuffle in its crewed mission manifest, however, slates Starliner to fly only once next year for the Crew Flight Test in mid-April.
The last in a series of flight tests, Starliner's Crew Flight Test is planned to be a short-duration mission that will send NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams to the space station for about 10 days. It will be the last major hoop for Boeing to jump through to certify the Starliner's capability to serve as a reliable human transportation system for NASA before beginning regular operational missions flying up to twice a year.
So far, Starliner has launched twice on demonstration flights without crew on board from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets.
More:
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2023/10/16/nasa-crewed-missions-iss-2024-boeing-starliner-spacex-dragon/71154751007/
