WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) – NASA said on Tuesday it pushed a routine SpaceX launch of astronauts to the International Space Station back a month to spend more time analyzing issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which remains docked at the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft was initially scheduled to launch four astronauts to the ISS on Aug. 18, but NASA said that mission, named Crew-9, is now planned for “no earlier than” Sept. 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory,” the agency said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boeing’s (BA.N), opens new tab<\/u><\/a> Starliner spacecraft in June launched its first two astronauts to the ISS as a high-stakes test mission required before NASA can certify the spacecraft for routine astronaut flights, a milestone that SpaceX’s similar Crew Dragon capsule achieved in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Starliner’s test mission, initially expected to last about eight days, has been drawn out far longer by an array of problems<\/u><\/a> with the craft’s propulsion system that Boeing and NASA have been scrambling to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those problems have called into question Starliner’s ability to safely return to Earth its crew, veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams<\/u><\/a>. NASA has been examining whether a Crew Dragon capsule will have to bring them home instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No decisions have been made regarding Starliner’s return,” NASA’s statement added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mission delays have cost Boeing $125 million, securities filings show, bringing the company’s total loss on the program to $1.6 billion since 2016 as the aerospace giant struggles to build a spacecraft that can compete with SpaceX’s more experienced and less expensive Crew Dragon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n