NASA is delaying the launch of the next space station crew as it continues to work through thruster issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. In a blog post the agency said the launch of the Crew 9 mission, aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule is now targeted for no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 24.
“This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory,” NASA wrote. “Starliner ground teams are taking their time to analyze the results of recent docked hot-fire testing, finalize flight rationale for the spacecraft’s integrated propulsion system, and confirm system reliability ahead of Starliner’s return to Earth.”
The agency added that “NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate the spacecraft’s readiness, and no decisions have been made regarding Starliner’s return.”
Until Starliner or the Crew 8 Dragon depart space station there are no free docking ports to accommodate the Crew 9 mission.
NASA also announced that the Crew-9 mission is moving from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This will mark the first crewed launch from SLC-40 since SpaceX erected a new crew access tower in 2023.
This story is breaking news and will be updated.
