Slow Burn: How Starliner’s crewed test flight went awry
Top Stories Tamfitronics When NASA and Boeing officials walked into the briefing room at the Kennedy Space Center on June 5, they were all smiles. After years of development setbacks, weeks of delays because of a spacecraft helium leak and a final four-day slip caused by a problem with a ground computer, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft had finally reached orbit with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board.Well, most of them were smiling. “I’m smiling, believe me,” said a straight-faced Mark Nappi, Boeing vice president and commercial crew program manager, at the briefing.However, he was as relieved as anyone that Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission was underway, given the program’s checkered history. “I can’t tell you how good that feels for our Starliner team,” he said.However, that would be the...
