Moscow. January 13. INTERFAX - Boeing is preparing the Starliner spacecraft for a new test launch to the ISS in May 2022, the head of the company in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS Sergey Kravchenko told Interfax.
"We are preparing a spacecraft for launch to the International Space Station in May 2022," Kravchenko said.
According to him, the company's engineers "continue to analyze the failure of several engine valves detected before starting, as well as conduct additional tests."
Earlier, the launch of the second OFT-2 test mission to the ISS was planned to be carried out on August 3, but due to technical problems, it was canceled three hours before the launch. Problems were identified in the operation of 13 valves of the low-thrust engines of the Starliner service module.
Boeing is developing a manned spacecraft CST-100 Starliner under a contract with NASA. Like SpaceX, it was chosen by the American Space Agency as a developer of new systems for delivering American astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX has already completed several such regular missions with the help of its Crew Dragon ships. At the moment, the third SpaceX spacecraft is docked to the ISS, which arrived at the station in early November. Meanwhile, Boeing is still at the stage of testing its ship in unmanned mode.
