Boeing’s Starliner capsule, flawed and aimless: Its astronauts pass to SpaceX’s Dragon Crew

Astronauts Josh Casada and Ness Mann are in space aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule, and although they’ve been considering staying for the long haul, it’s been known that they will finally return sooner than expected. They will be part of the SpaceX Dragon Crew since they were reassigned by NASA due to Boeing delays in developing their capsule.

Casada and Mann have been waiting since 2018 to fly the Starliner but capsule development hasn’t gone as expected. In December 2019, he reached space but encounters unexpected inconveniences on the mission. Then a year of development went by and they promised a new launch for this year, but that can’t be because the capsule still had major failures that caused delays and NASA reassigned astronauts to it for other missions.

Both were initially trained to fly Boeing’s Starliner, and will now be trained to fly SpaceX. They are expected to travel to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s fifth manned mission to the International Space Station, which will take place next year.

While Boeing continues to repair the Starliner, SpaceX has managed to make history with the Dragon Crew. Both capsules are part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is looking at alternatives to relying on Russia to bring astronauts to the International Space Station. The program asked both companies to launch two test missions, one unmanned and one with a crew.

Boeing succeeded only in the first, and with its failures. The capsule contained various software bugs that prevented it from reaching the International Space Station. However, they managed to land on her back on the ground. On its second mission, the capsule had valve problems, which is why it has not been fired again for the time being. NASA has given Boeing another opportunity to relaunch the capsule without a crew.

Meanwhile, SpaceX has carried out two successful test missions and two other missions with astronauts on board to reach the International Space Station and return. The next mission is expected on October 30 to bring more astronauts to the International Space Station. In November you will return the others.