The Boeing Starliner capsule continues to prepare for its historic crewed flight to the ISS in mid-April. This Crew Flight Test (CFT) flight will send NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams to the “orbital laboratory.” Designed as a spacecraft for astronauts, Starliner’s first crewed flight is expected to take place in just six weeks.

“Our teams have done a tremendous amount of work to resolve technical issues identified during the flight certification process,” a NASA representative wrote in a Jan. 24 blog post. said. These technical issues significantly delayed the launch of CFT from July 2023 until this spring.

In particular, two basic problems that could affect flight safety were resolved. The first problem concerns the inconsistency of the required load of the soft links, which are part of the suspension system of the Starliner main parachutes. The second problem involved wrapping the capsule cables with P213 fire-resistant tape.

The Starliner team made changes to the parachute system, the new version of which was successfully drop-tested in the Arizona desert earlier this month. Additionally, P213 tape cables were removed and replaced.

“Boeing engineers removed more than 7.7 kilograms and more than 1,310 meters of material from the Starliner capsule,” NASA said on its blog.

CFT plans to send Wilmore and Williams to the ISS for ten days. Starliner will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This flight will be Starliner’s third flight. In December 2019, the capsule failed to make the planned flight to the ISS in automatic mode, but was successful on the second attempt in May 2022.

NASA signed contracts with Boeing and SpaceX in September 2014 to deliver astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX has already successfully completed seven missions with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule. The company is preparing to send its eighth crewed launch next month.

Boeing Starliner can accommodate up to seven crew members, while SpaceX Dragon can carry up to four people. Both spacecraft include life support systems, autonomous orbit control and reentry systems, and emergency egress facilities.

One of the key differences is the method of return to Earth. Starliner uses a parachute system and returns to Earth with parachutes. The Dragon returns directly to the landing pad and lands. For safety, both ships undergo stringent testing and certification before each launch.