The unmanned flight test of the Starliner, Boeing's 'space taxi' that aims to compete with Elon Musk's Space X Dragon shuttle for transporting supplies, astronauts and tourists to orbit, could postpone to 2022. Kathy Lueders of NASA expressed doubts about the possibility that the failed launch in August due to technical problems could be retried within the year, at a press conference in which the US space agency illustrated the reorganization of the human flight sector with two new directions: that for space operations (of which Leuders became associate administrator) and that for the development of exploration systems.
The uncertainty surrounding the launch of the Starliner spacecraft depends on several factors. The first is certainly represented by the still unresolved technical problems with the propulsion system valves that prevented the August launch. After a month of testing and analysis, the Boeing technicians have not yet understood what the cause could be: among the hypotheses being examined is that of the leakage of propellant, which could have caused the formation of nitric acid and the consequent corrosion of the valves. For this reason, they are considering whether to repair the service module or install a new one for the mission: the decision, Leuders said, should come in the coming weeks.
The second factor to take into account for the rescheduling of the Starliner launch is the availability of docking points on the International Space Station (ISS): they are currently both used by the SpaceX Dragon shuttles and will see animated comings and goings in the coming months.