Boeing shifts schedule for Starliner, calls 2019 crew launch “realistic”

Enlarge / An artist's view of the Starliner spacecraft en route to the International Space Station. (credit: Boeing)

On Wednesday, Boeing's John Mulholland, who manages the company's commercial crew program, provided an update on Boeing's development of its Starliner spacecraft. And, as was widely expected, the company moved its schedule to the right.

Now, instead of August 2018, Boeing will target the end of this year (or early 2019) for an uncrewed orbital flight test of its Starliner vehicle. And the first flight of the spacecraft with astronauts aboard, which had been set for November 2018, will slip to mid-2019, Mulholland said. He added that NASA is working toward these dates as well and believes they are realistic.

Problems can always occur during the test phase of a spacecraft, of course. "There are certainly potential risks in front of us as we move through the remaining test program," Mulholland said. "There is always, by its nature, the risk of discovery." The biggest risk will come during the finalization of the test program and the discovery of new items that must be addressed before flight. "These development programs are hard," he said. "Especially for human spacecraft."

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