INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
One drawback of flying a Starliner cargo mission is that it will use up one of United Launch Alliance's remaining Atlas V rockets currently
earmarked for a future Starliner crew launch
That means Boeing would have to turn to another rocket to accomplish its full contract with NASA, which covers up to six crew missions.While
Boeing says Starliner can launch on several different rockets, the difficulty of adapting the spacecraft to a new launch vehicle, such as
ULA's Vulcan, shouldn't be overlooked
Early in Starliner's development, Boeing and ULA had to overcome an issue with unexpected aerodynamic loads discovered during wind tunnel
This prompted engineers to design an aerodynamic extension, or skirt, to go underneath the Starliner spacecraft on top of its Atlas V
launcher.Starliner has suffered delays from the beginning
A NASA budget crunch in the early 2010s pushed back the program about two years, but the rest of the schedule slips have largely fallen on
The setbacks included a fuel leak and fire during a critical ground test, parachute problems, a redesign to accommodate unanticipated
aerodynamic forces, and a computer timing error that cut short Starliner's first attempt to reach the space station in 2019.This all
culminated in the program's first test flight with astronauts last summer
spacecraft's two crew members remained on the International Space Station until they could come home on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft this
year.The outcome was a stinging disappointment for Boeing
Going into last year's crew test flight, Boeing appeared to be on the cusp of joining SpaceX and finally earning revenue as one of NASA's
certified crew transportation providers for the ISS.For several months, Boeing officials were strikingly silent on Starliner's future
The company declined to release any statements on their long-term commitment to the program, and a Boeing program manager unexpectedly
withdrew from a NASA press conference marking the end of the Starliner test flight last September.
