WASHINGTON : Boeing and NASA quelled two technical issues on the company's Starliner spacecraft, including a "design vulnerability" requiring a temporary workaround, to get the capsule back on track for its first mission carrying two astronauts to space, officials said on Friday.
File photo: Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, is prepared for launch of the Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test , in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File photo
"This is really not a safety of flight issue for ourselves, and we believe that we have a well-understood condition that we can manage," Boeing's Starliner boss Mark Nappi told reporters during a news conference. Modeling showed that a cascading, but very unlikely, series of issues during a mission could eliminate the capsule's backup thrusters and render it unable to safely return to Earth. A software fix offered a temporary workaround for the mission, but Boeing and NASA will discuss whether a deeper redesign is needed before future flights, officials said.
That meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, three days before Boeing's target launch time on June 1, 12:25 PM ET. If needed Starliner also has opportunities to fly June 2, 5 and 6. That would begin to clash with other scheduled priorities ULA has on its launch pad, such as Amazon's first launch of its Kuiper satellites and ULA's second flight of its new Vulcan rocket, a long-delayed demonstration that would allow it to start launching Pentagon missions.
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