Boeing Plans Launch Procedure Audits for Starliner Spacecraft After Shortened ISS Flight Test

Boeing intends to assess its CST-100 Starliner capsule throughout the launch, docking, undocking and landing procedures following its shortened test flight to the International Space Station in December, SpaceNews reported Friday.

Boeing and NASA established a joint investigative team in January to identify errors that occurred during the uncrewed orbital flight test. 

The independent review found that Starliner’s planned docking on the ISS was postponed due to a misaligned timer that could have caused collisions between the crew and service modules.

John Mulholland, vice president and Starliner program manager at Boeing, said at a press briefing that the company is working on software audits to identify and correct errors during the planned two-day OFT.

“We know we need to improve, particularly with rebuilding trust with our customer, and we pledge our discipline and commitment to doing so,” he noted. “We’re going to apply additional rigor to systems engineering and software development.”

According to Mulholland, NASA is facilitating evaluations to decide whether Starliner’s next flight will be crewed or uncrewed.