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Boeing’s Starliner capsule is lastly able to reattempt a key check launch to the Worldwide House Station on Could 19, officers mentioned Tuesday.
The uncrewed flight, named OFT-2, is an important step in direction of certifying the spaceship for ultimately carrying passengers, giving NASA a second taxi supplier alongside SpaceX.
Aerospace large Boeing, which was awarded a $4.2 billion contract for the aim in 2014, initially tried the check in 2019 however didn’t rendezvous with the ISS after experiencing software program glitches that brought about flight anomalies.
This system has since skilled a number of delays. It was final purported to fly in August 2021, however the mission was aborted simply hours earlier than launch as a result of excessive humidity led to corrosion inside Starliner’s valves.
“It has been a tough eight months I’d say, however very fulfilling that we have resolved the issue,” mentioned Steve Stich, supervisor of NASA’s Industrial Crew Program on a name with reporters.
NASA is focusing on 6:54 pm (2254 GMT) for lift-off from the Kennedy House Heart in Florida.
If OFT-2 succeeds, Boeing must full one other crewed check earlier than it’s formally licensed, with the corporate aiming for the top of 2022 for this mission, Boeing’s Mark Nappi mentioned.
Within the meantime, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has already ferried greater than 20 individuals to the ISS on its Crew Dragon capsule since its first crewed flight in 2020.
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