NASA Moves 2 Astronauts From Boeing Missions To Future SpaceX Launch Following Severe Starliner Delays

• NASA has moved two astronauts from Boeing launches to a SpaceX 2022 mission, the agency said on Wednesday.

• Boeing’s Starliner missions to the International Space Station (ISS) have been delayed indefinitely after setbacks.

• Moving the astronauts to SpaceX would give Boeing time to work on the Starliner spacecraft, NASA said.

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NASA said on Wednesday it had moved two astronauts from Boeing missions to a future SpaceX launch following a major delay in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Nicole Mann was scheduled to perform a test flight of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), and Josh Cassada was assigned to the craft’s first operational ISS mission. But an unmanned Starliner launch has been delayed indefinitely, and NASA has said it is reassigning astronauts to SpaceX missions to give Boeing time to complete Starliner development.

The pair are now expected aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-5 mission to the ISS in fall 2022, NASA added.

Mann is expected to serve as the commander and Cassada is expected to be the pilot for the SpaceX Crew-5 mission, NASA said.

“Nicole and Josh have done a tremendous job of pioneering training and the way forward for astronauts to fly aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft,” said Kathryn Lueders of the Space Operations Mission Branch. NASA in the press release. She added that the two astronauts will continue the experiment when they practice flying in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Three other NASA astronauts – Butch Wilmore, Mike Fincke and Suni Williams – were still assigned to Boeing’s Starliner projects, the agency said in the statement.

In 2014, NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing to build spacecraft for the agency’s commercial crew program to take American astronauts to and from the ISS.

But setbacks with the Starliner spacecraft have delayed Boeing’s efforts.

Boeing had scheduled an August 3 unmanned Starliner test flight to and from the ISS.

The story continues

Hours before launch, engineers discovered a valve problem on the spacecraft’s propulsion system and Boeing had to abandon the launch. The company later discovered that 13 valves were not opening properly, preventing the engines from starting.

Boeing said it sent Starliner back to the factory to fix the issues and delayed the launch indefinitely, Insider’s Morgan McFall-Johnsen reported.

Boeing first attempted an unmanned Starliner test flight in December 2019, but the spacecraft strayed from course and consumed fuel too quickly. This meant that there was not enough fuel to reach the ISS and return to Earth.

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