You’ll never guess what happened to Boeing’s Starliner – BGR

To say that Boeing’s Starliner program did not go according to plan would be the understatement of the century. The Starliner spacecraft, which NASA included with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in the commercial crew program, did not live up to expectations in almost every respect. The spacecraft was supposed to already take human astronauts to and from the International Space Station, just like SpaceX’s vehicle, but it had not even completed its unmanned test mission to the ISS.

Now, like SpaceNews reported, Starliner will again miss its launch date, according to NASA. Space agency officials recently provided an update on their active programs, revealing that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will launch its second formal crew mission by the end of April, with April 20 being the earliest possible date for the mission. Starliner will miss its launch date on April 2 by at least another week.

Today’s Top Deal Slim black KN95 masks are back in stock at Amazon after being sold out twice! Price:$ 14.99 BGR is available on Amazon and may receive a commission Buy now Available at Amazon BGR may receive a commission

The Starliner program was an absolute disaster in so many ways that it’s actually painful to remember that NASA poured $ 4.2 billion in taxpayer money on Boeing to build the spacecraft. It saw delay after delay, and as soon as the vehicle was finally ready to travel to space on the unmanned test mission, the spacecraft went out, burned a lot of fuel that it should not burn, and had to return to Earth without any time come to make it to the orbital laboratory.

NASA and Boeing played it out as if the mission was a ‘success’, despite the fact that Starliner did not do what he was supposed to do. In the months that followed, NASA took a closer look at the Starliner vehicle and its development and devised a large list that Boeing wanted to address. The company has finally checked all those boxes, but it looks like the spacecraft just isn’t ready for its time in the spotlight.

The new potential launch date is no earlier than April 9th. A one-week delay may not seem like much, but it’s just a symptom of what’s clearly a bigger problem. Remember that Starliner was supposed to be done by 2017. That was four years ago, and the spacecraft had not yet completed an unmanned mission, let alone a crew to space with a full number of astronauts.

As for NASA, he already has a capable crew vehicle that he can use whenever he wants in the form of the Crew Dragon. The space agency may not be in a hurry to add another vehicle to its fleet, but the fact that Boeing is paid billions (and even more, due to years of delays) because it has not kept its promises is a bit difficult to stomach.

Today’s Top Deal Slim black KN95 masks are back in stock at Amazon after being sold out twice! Price:$ 14.99 BGR is available on Amazon and may receive a commission Buy now Available at Amazon BGR may receive a commission