US space agency delivers a harsh assessment of a botched Boeing Starliner test flight that stranded two astronauts
The US space agency labelled the 2024 test flight of the Starliner capsule a “Type A” mishap - the same classification of the deadly Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters - a category that reflects the “potential for a significant mishap,” it said.
The failures left a pair of Nasa astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station for nine months in a mission that captured global attention and became a political flashpoint.
“Starliner has design and engineering deficiencies that must be corrected, but the most troubling failure revealed by this investigation is not hardware. It’s decision-making and leadership,” said Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman in a briefing.
Nasa astronauts finally back on Earth after 9-month delay
Nasa astronauts finally back on Earth after 9-month delay“If left unchecked,” he said, this mismanagement “could create a culture incompatible with human space flight.”
