Boeing Starliner forced NASA to delay SpaceX Crew 9 mission

NASA has decided to delay the launch of Crew 9 human spaceflight mission with SpaceX due to the ongoing issues in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

Based on the initial announcement, the space agency scheduled this launch for August 18. Today, NASA updated this date to no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, 2024.

SpaceX is appointed to send the crew to space using the Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Space X Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Image Source: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will house four astronauts including NASA’s Zena Cardman, Nick Hague, Stephanie Wilson, and Roscomos’s Alexandar Gorbunov.

These commercial crew missions enable NASA to expand the use of the International Space Station (ISS). These astronauts are responsible for conducting research in the orbiting laboratory to support human missions on other planets.

Issues With Boeing Starliner

Starliner is a new spacecraft designed to send humans into space and conducted its first flight on June 5 with United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket.

It carried NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sumi Williams and successfully delivered them to the Space Station on June 6, 2024. Starliner was scheduled to undock from the space station a week after docking. However, the Starliner is unable to return to Earth after two months of launch. The root cause of the issues lies in its hardware and design.

Boeing Starliner Spacecraft (Image Credit: Boeing)

Boeing, ULA, and NASA had postponed several launch opportunities to fix these faults and get spacecraft into orbit. It took over a month to do this and come to a lift off date.

“This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory,” said NASA.

The agency revealed that Starliner ground teams are analyzing the current state of docked spacecraft and confirming the reliability of returning safely to Earth. Still, an exact date for undocking is not decided.