Photo: NASA
Initially scheduled to take off in the first quarter of the year, the SpaceX and Boeing capsules' inaugural flights have been pushed into to March 2019.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon was supposed to take off in January, with Boeing's Starliner set for March. Both were delayed several times and the new launch date is now March 2 for the Crew Dragon.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by NASA, which said this extra time will allow for the “completion of necessary hardware testing, data verification, remaining NASA and provider reviews, as well as training of flight controllers and mission managers.”
With the Crew Dragon launch delayed, Boeing will have to move the launch of its Starliner to “no earlier than April.”
The American space exploration program now has a pretty busy spring ahead, as it attempts to get astronauts to space from American soil for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011.
It will also be the first time in history a privately-built spacecraft will dock with the International Space Station.
Both these launches will be uncrewed. Should everything go according to plan, humans will get on board the capsules for the first time later in the year. There are two crewed flights planned for each, one for testing purposes and the other an actual mission.
For SpaceX's test flight, NASA assigned Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, both members of several Endeavour and Atlantis missions. The company's first real mission will be flown by Victor Glover, at his first flight to space, and ISS veteran Michael Hopkins.
Boeing's test flight will be led by Michael Fincke (replacing Eric Boe, who was initially announced for the mission, Christopher Ferguson - both shuttle missions veterans - and Nicole Aunapu Mann, at her first flight to space. The first mission has been tasked to Josh Cassada (first time in space) and Sunita Williams, ISS astronaut.
The new launch schedule is listed in the document attached below.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by NASA, which said this extra time will allow for the “completion of necessary hardware testing, data verification, remaining NASA and provider reviews, as well as training of flight controllers and mission managers.”
With the Crew Dragon launch delayed, Boeing will have to move the launch of its Starliner to “no earlier than April.”
The American space exploration program now has a pretty busy spring ahead, as it attempts to get astronauts to space from American soil for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011.
It will also be the first time in history a privately-built spacecraft will dock with the International Space Station.
Both these launches will be uncrewed. Should everything go according to plan, humans will get on board the capsules for the first time later in the year. There are two crewed flights planned for each, one for testing purposes and the other an actual mission.
For SpaceX's test flight, NASA assigned Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, both members of several Endeavour and Atlantis missions. The company's first real mission will be flown by Victor Glover, at his first flight to space, and ISS veteran Michael Hopkins.
Boeing's test flight will be led by Michael Fincke (replacing Eric Boe, who was initially announced for the mission, Christopher Ferguson - both shuttle missions veterans - and Nicole Aunapu Mann, at her first flight to space. The first mission has been tasked to Josh Cassada (first time in space) and Sunita Williams, ISS astronaut.
The new launch schedule is listed in the document attached below.
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