NASA and Boeing officials say an independent review of December’s uncrewed test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi has identified 61 corrective actions that will need to be taken.
- The review was ordered after the Starliner craft failed to rendezvous with the International Space Station, due to a glitch that threw off the timing of a crucial engine burn. The independent review team reported 49 gaps in Boeing’s software testing procedures, NASA said.
- NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, Doug Loverro, said Starliner’s lapse is being classified as a “high-visibility close call,” which will require further reviews to capture the lessons learned. The full list of corrective actions and software testing gaps was not immediately released.
- Loverro said it’s too early to determine whether Boeing will have to fly another uncrewed test before proceeding with Starliner’s first crewed flight to the space station. He said Boeing will first have to lay out its plan for addressing the recommended corrective actions. Boeing has set aside $410 million to cover the cost of an additional uncrewed test flight, just in case.
