Once again... NASA postpones the first manned flight via the "Starliner" capsule

 Boeing and NASA announced, Thursday, that the first manned flight of the American company's "Starliner" space capsule, which was scheduled to take place in July after several delays.

According to the two parties, the experimental, called the "crew flight test", which is supposed to transport two astronauts to the International Space Station again, was postponed due to two technical problems that were recently spotted:

The first problem was with the parachutes used to restrain the capsule during its return to Earth, as it was found that part of the link between the capsule and the parachute itself was more fragile than expected.

The second problem relates to the adhesive tape used to wrap the electrical cables inside the capsule. This tape has been shown to be flammable and, under certain circumstances, can present a hazard if it malfunctions.

"We decided to stop preparations for the 'crew flight test' mission in order to correct these problems," Mark Nappi, Boeing's program manager, said during a press conference, noting that the aforementioned adhesive tape is used for at least tens of meters. Removing it may cause damage, and one solution may be to cover it with other materials in the areas most at risk.

Nabi pointed out that this year's trip is still "implementable", without committing to a new date. The US space agency has contracted with Boeing and SpaceX to develop a capsule to transport astronauts to the International Space Station and return them.

Astronauts have been traveling since 2020 on a SpaceX-designed vehicle, but Boeing's program has been delayed by a series of setbacks. After a failed flight in 2019, the company was finally able to reach the International Space Station for the first time, in an uncrewed flight conducted a year ago.

It must now complete a final test via manned flight on the Starliner in order to be certified and begin operational flights. Boeing had hoped to be able to carry out this manned flight in 2022, before delaying it to February 2023, then April, then July.

Faced with these recurring problems, reporters asked NASA about its desire to continue its cooperation with Boeing. "Our ultimate goal is to have a SpaceX flight and a Boeing flight once a year to rotate our crews through the station," Steve Stitch, who is in charge of NASA's commercial program, said Thursday.