Boeing to prepare Starliner for space flight by March 2024



08/08/2023 9:31 AM


The choice of the ultimate date depends on the parachute system's successful testing, which is planned for November.



NASA Johnson
The American company Boeing intends to finish preparing the Starliner spaceship for the first manned journey to the International Space Station (ISS) around the end of March 2024, reports Bloomberg.

Boeing intends to finish the spacecraft's preparation by the end of the first quarter of 2019, but "the exact date will be determined after joint work with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)," said the company’s representative.

He said that deciding on the final date depends on the parachute system's successful testing, which is planned for November, as well as the resolution of other crucial technical and safety difficulties.

In June, NASA and Boeing decided to postpone the spacecraft's launch indefinitely.

The Starliner weighs 13 tons and is made for a crew of seven and a 60-hour autonomous flight. On December 20, 2019, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launched it to the ISS in unmanned mode. Despite difficulties, a second test flight was successfully performed in May 2022.

source: bloomberg.com

 


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