Photo: NASA
NASA’s Commercial Crew office released its high-level plan for 2025 today. It has few surprises, with two SpaceX Commercial Crew missions, and offers the slightest of updates for Boeing’s Starliner program and holds out the possibility of a Starliner flight next year.
SpaceX Commercial Crew Flights in 2025
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Crew-10
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission is scheduled for February 2025.
Crew-11
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 is targeted for no earlier than July of next year, but that may be adjusted because of operational needs — resupply missions on docking ports, etc. NASA will announce the four-person crew at a later date.
There is speculation that the two members of Crew-9 who were taken off the flight to accommodate Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test astronauts will be assigned to this flight, but at this point in time, that is just rumor and has no basis in official facts released by the agency.
Stephanie Wilson and Zena Cardman were deep into the training cycle for the Crew-9, which presumably gives them a headstart. Still, ultimately, Chief of the Astronaut Office Joe Acaba and other NASA officials will make the call. When that information will be released to the public is unknown.
Boeing Starliner
Here is where today’s release gets really interesting: NASA says that, “The timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established. This determination will include considerations for incorporating Crew Flight Test lessons learned, approvals of final certification products, and operational readiness.”
“Meanwhile, NASA is keeping options on the table for how best to achieve system certification, including windows of opportunity for a potential Starliner flight in 2025.”
To fly in 2025, Boeing and its contractors will need to fix the issues that dogged the Crewed Flight Test this year, namely overheating thrusters, helium leaks, and potentially degraded seals (this was seen in ground testing during the investigations of Starliner CFT).
To do that, Boeing and NASA engineers must finalize their data analyses if they still need to do so. From there, Boeing and its subcontractors can begin designing and fabricating any hardware changes and qualifying those for human spaceflight. Externally, Boeing seems optimistic that they can do those things in 2025. Whether that happens remains to be seen, given that aerospace projects are often delayed.
