The Starliner spacecraft, developed by Boeing, is preparing to fly into space in 2026. Experts are currently testing a new sealing compound and hope that it will help avoid the problems which prevented the previous flight from being completed normally.
Starliner
Last year, the Starliner spacecraft became a symbol of space failure. Although it managed to return to Earth unharmed, he did so without its crew, who had to spend many months on the ISS.
The reason for this was a helium leak after launch, which made returning to Earth too dangerous. Since then, engineers at the aerospace giant have been searching for new sealing methods and testing them.
As NASA recently announced, their main location is the White Sands test facility in New Mexico. They have made significant progress there, and it is quite possible that Starliner will embark on a new journey into space as early as the first half of 2026.
Will the spacecraft fly?
All of this is very important, given the US plans to explore near-Earth space. NASA is already experiencing a crisis, as many projects will have to be shut down and the situation with manned flights remains tense.
Currently, the space agency relies solely on SpaceX and Roscosmos, although according to plans, Starliner should already be taking on part of the burden of transporting astronauts. And indeed, everyone is interested in ensuring that this project is not as dead as it seems.
If it flies into space again in 2026 and this time there are no serious technical problems, that will already be a success. But it could be only half of that, because it is not known whether the launch will be manned or whether there will only be cargo on board.
According to phys.org
