We ’ll have to put the new era of spaceflight on hold for just a fiddling bit , because one of the two company NASA was trust on to start fly astronauts from American soil next year has delayed its first flight to 2018 .
Boeing , together with SpaceX , is being heavily funded by NASA ( to the tune of $ 4.2 billion ) to commence launching astronaut to the International Space Station ( ISS ) , a potentiality the U.S. has been without since the Space Shuttle was hit the sack in July 2011 . This has left them relying on Russian transportation , the Soyuz spacecraft , something NASA is keen to remedy .
But while SpaceX continue to make ground – not only with its upcoming manned Dragon V2 spacecraft , but with its reusable rocket – Boeing has hit a tear with its CST-100 Starliner . “ We ’re working toward our first remote-controlled trajectory in 2017 , follow by a manned astronaut flight of steps in 2018 , " said Leanne Caret , chief executive officer of Boeing ’s Defense , Space , and Security Division , at a briefing for investors this week , reportedGeekwire . In other words , they ’re delaying their first manned trajectory .
According toSpaceNews , the new timeline will see a launchpad abort test of the spacecraft in October 2017 , where the capsule exercise set in motion away from a malfunctioning rocket to save the crowd . An unmanned orbital test flying is scheduled for December 2017 , come by a crewed flight of stairs to the ISS in February 2018 . in the beginning , the remote-controlled flight was contrive for June 2017 , and the manned flight in October 2017 . SpaceX , meanwhile , says it isstill on trackfor 2017 .
The understanding seem to be due to a problem with the weight of the ballistic capsule . Namely , it ’s too threatening . There also seems to be some problems tie the capsule to the Eruca vesicaria sativa that will launch it to space .
Boeing performed a drop - test of Starliner in February 2016 . NASA / David C. Bowman
Starlineris a capsule that will eventually be equal to of taking seven spaceman into space . On these first missionary work , though , it will take between two and four . Starliner will establish atop an Atlas 5 Eruca vesicaria sativa on missions to the ISS , and generate to Earth using parachutes to touch down in the ocean ( Dragon V2 , meanwhile , may eventually perform powered landings on the primer ) .
For NASA , the delays will be a bit of a blow . They have invested a lot of money in these private caller ( $ 2.6 billion in SpaceX ) to take astronauts to blank , and they ’ll need to show the benefit of doing so – while scrap the Space Shuttle – as soon as potential . No doubt they ’ll be hoping that there are no more delay after this .
