Clock mishap forces NASA to abort test flight to space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Boeing's crew capsule is back on Earth after an aborted flight to the International Space Station. With a test dummy and no astronauts aboard, the Starliner landed in the New Mexico desert before dawn Sunday. Red, white and blue parachutes popped open and airbags also inflated around the capsule to ease the impact. This first test flight was cut short and the space station docking canceled because of an improperly set clock on the capsule. NASA says it hasn’t decided whether another test flight is needed before flying astronauts.
Boeing, SpaceX face challenges in delayed NASA program
Soyuz seats have cost NASA up to $86 million, according to OIG, and $55.4 million on average. NASA and Boeing both pushed back on the assertion that Boeing was awarded additional money unnecessarily. NASA tapped SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to build vehicles capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX and Boeing told CNN Business Friday that they now expect to be ready for their first crewed missions in early 2020. It also cautioned that as NASA works to get commercial crews on schedule, it "continues to accept deferrals or changes" from SpaceX and Boeing.