spacetoday.net: Starliner crewed test flight delayed again

Posted: Sun, Jun 4, 2023, 9:16 AM ET (1316 GMT)
CST-100 Starliner in orbit (Boeing)

The first crewed flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner has been delayed again. NASA and Boeing announced late Thursday that the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, which had been scheduled to launch as soon as July 21, would be delayed indefinitely because of two new issues with the spacecraft. One issue involves parachute components called soft links that are not as strong as required, while the other is tape used to wrap wire harnesses that is flammable. Boeing said it would spend the next week reviewing potential solutions to those issues. A launch of the CFT mission before the end of this year is "feasible," the company said, but added it was premature to set a launch date. NASA said it supported Boeing's decision to delay CFT and reiterated its desire to get Starliner flying to provide redundancy to SpaceX's Crew Dragon.