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Boeing (NYSE:BA) and NASA said on Thursday they are targeting February 2023 to fly the first Starliner mission with astronauts aboard to the International Space Station, after officials previously hoped to launch the space capsule by the end of this year.
While the exact launch date has not been determined, February is “likely the best window,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The plans follow May’s successful uncrewed test flight that was a welcome development after years of setbacks; the capsule managed to dock with the International Space Station on the May mission, despite problems with the thruster that must be fixed before two NASA astronauts climb aboard.
Launch schedule changes and engineering fixes resulting from Starliner’s March test mission forced Boeing (BA) to book a $93M charge against Q2 earnings, bringing total Starliner-related charges to $688M since the spacecraft’s 2019 test failure.
Boeing (BA) is under a $4.5B fixed-price NASA contract for Starliner development and six routine missions after the spacecraft’s certification.
Boeing’s (BA) recent stock price rebound likely has captured most of its near-term upside, despite the resumption of its 787 deliveries, JR Research writes in an analysis published recently on Seeking Alpha.
Image and article originally from seekingalpha.com. Read the original article here.