JAKARTA - Boeing's first mission to bring astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) with the Starliner capsule, is likely to be postponed again, as NASA considers it less prepared.
The launch of the Boeing Crewed Flight Test (CFT) mission was originally scheduled for February and then moved to the end of April, and now likely won't happen until summer.
NASA said the postponement of the mission was due to aircraft batteries that were claimed to be too hot. The space agency is worried that Starliner's lithium-ion batteries could get too hot when they get closer to the ISS.
Although they agreed to see the risk too low, NASA is hesitant to continue the CFT mission that will fly two Sunita "Suni" astronauts Williams and Barry "Butch" Willmore to the ISS.
Reuters reported quoted from The Register, Monday, March 27, NASA's chief Commercial Crew Program, Steve Stich said Boeing is now thinking about redesigning his battery and adding a shield if the battery is too hot.
It also applies to SpaceX which has to change the design of its crew capsule battery. But, however, the company owned by billionaire Elon Musk has successfully made seven manned flights to the ISS.
Boeing also plans to change parts of its spacecraft containing the booster used to separate Starliner's main crew module from its service module, before returning to Earth. NASA has agreed to pay at least US$24.8 million (Rp375 billion) to overhaul the system.
According to NASA's associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, Kathy Lueders, the mission will be launched following the Axiom-2 private astronaut mission to the ISS, which was planned for early May.
"We are adjusting the schedule for the Space Station including the launch date for our Boeing Crew Flight Test when the team assesses readiness and completes verification work," Lueders said on his official Twitter account.
We’re adjusting the @Space_Station schedule including the launch date for our Boeing Crew Flight Test as teams assess readiness and complete verification work. CFT now will launch following Axiom Mission 2 for optimized station operations. (1/2)
— Kathy Lueders (@KathyLueders) March 23, 2023
For information, NASA has signed a contract to launch six future Starliner missions.
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