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NASA showed great confidence in the Boeing Starliner by transferring the astronauts who were to launch aboard the calamity capsule to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
The nautes concerned are Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, who were to participate in the Crew Flight Test and Starliner-1 missions respectively. Both were selected by NASA in 2013, after the last flight of the space shuttle program, and have been waiting since their trip to space.
Less than a year ago, Boeing congratulated Mann on his addition to NASA’s Artemis team. If things had gone as planned, she would have made her first space flight aboard the Starliner.
We are so excited for #Starliner crew member @AstroDuke, has just been appointed to # Artemis team of astronauts. We ️ you to the Moon and back. pic.twitter.com/6ScSdGh1kY
– Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) December 9, 2020
However, a year (or less) is a long time in spaceflight, and after repeated setbacks for the Starliner, it appears NASA has unplugged and replaced Mann and Cassada with the Crew Dragon. Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore, Mike Fincke and Suni Williams remain committed to the project for the time being and “will continue to provide experience for Boeing”, according to the US space agency.
“NASA decided it was important to make these reallocations to give Boeing time to complete Starliner development,” the agency said, “while continuing plans for astronauts to gain experience. of space flight for the future needs of the agency’s missions “.
Mann and Cassada are the latest to fall victim to what appears to be the Curse of Calamity capsule. Three-time Space Shuttle Christoper Ferguson has stepped down from his role as commander of the first crewed Starliner mission in 2020. It’s a move that, in retrospect, appears to have been astute.
Mann and Cassada will now fly Crew-5, in the roles of Commander and Pilot, respectively. The SpaceX mission is slated to launch in the latter part of 2022, giving some idea of just how big a Starliner lag that could be on the cards. The duo, along with additional crew members, will be on an extended stay aboard the orbiting outpost.
Fincke and Wilmore remain assigned to the Starliner test flight, although the Starliner did not launch until a repeat of the unmanned demonstration mission which ended prematurely due to markedly validation and quality assurance practices. bad quality. The rehearsal is to show that the problems have been resolved, although he himself suffered from the curse of the calamity capsule; the last being a rollback from the launch pad and a return to the factory due to sticky valves.
Once a candidate to be the first to transport a crew to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, Boeing has slipped a sharp second behind SpaceX. Elon Musk’s rocket launchers sent 10 astronauts to the ISS and four more for a ride around the Earth.
Boeing did not. ®
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