NASA and Boeing's Starliner to Conduct First Manned Test Flight

TapTechNews May 25th, according to CNBC, NASA and Boeing said at a press conference on Friday local time that the Starliner spacecraft is expected to conduct its first manned test flight on June 1.

Regarding the previously discovered helium leak problem in the spaceship's thrusters, Mark Nappi, vice president of Boeing, said the cause of the leak has been determined and does not affect flight safety.

Although the current goal is to conduct the first test flight on June 1, Boeing still chose June 2, 5, and 6 as backup dates.

As TapTechNews understands, this flight of Boeing Strainer will be part of NASA's Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission. At that time, NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Sunita Williams will take the Strainer to the International Space Station to carry out its first manned flight.

To date, Boeing has lost 1.5 billion US dollars due to the setbacks of the Starliner, and nearly 5 billion US dollars in development funds from NASA.

NASA, Boeing, and the United Launch Alliance will conduct another inspection on May 29 to review the leakage situation. They plan to transport the rocket and the capsule to the launch pad on May 30 in order to make an attempt on June 1.