The long-awaited manned flight of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner is delayed once again. Its launch was originally planned for the end of April (or rather, not earlier than April 22), but it was recently postponed to the first half of May.
However, unlike numerous previous postponements (lasting several years), this change in schedules is not due to another technical problem – there were problems with the schedules of launches to the International Space Station (ISS).
It should be noted that recently the ISS has been significantly “loaded” with numerous manned and transport spacecraft. As of March 9, 2024, the following spacecraft are docked to the station:
- Crew Dragon manned Crew-7 mission (from August 27, 2023);
- manned Soyuz MS-24 (from September 15, 2023);
- Crew Dragon manned Crew-8 mission (from March 5, 2024);
- cargo Progress MS-25 (from December 3, 2023);
- cargo Cygnus NG-20 (from February 1, 2024)
- cargo Progress MS-26 (from February 17, 2024);
What further maneuvers are expected?
- On March 11, 2024, the Crew Dragon manned Crew-7 mission is scheduled to undock (with a return to Earth on March 12);
- On March 21, 2024, the manned Soyuz MS-25 is scheduled to be launched;
- On March 21, 2024, the SpaceX CRS-30 cargo Dragon mission is scheduled to launch;
- On April 2, 2024, the manned Soyuz MS-24 is scheduled to undock;
It seems that the schedule of these future missions takes into account the possibility of their postponement to later dates (for example, due to weather conditions, technical difficulties). That’s why the Boeing CST-100 Starliner flight (Boeing Crew Flight Test, or Boe CFT mission) was also moved a couple of weeks later, just in case.
