NASA, Boeing To Investigate December Spacecraft Software Glitch

NASA and Boeing Co BA are working on forming an independent team to investigate the key issues that stopped its uncrewed orbital flight from reaching the International Space Station in December, according to Reuters.

What Happened

NASA said it would start an investigation together with Boeing over a timer error that caused the failure of its December Orbital Flight Test.

In December, Boeing's CST-100 Starliner astronaut capsule failed to reach the International Space Station after a successful liftoff from Cape Canaveral in Florida. 

The independent investigation team will examine the root cause of the timer error and “any other software issues and provide corrective actions needed before flying crew to the International Space Station for the agency’s (NASA’s) Commercial Crew Program,” said NASA in a written statement on Tuesday.

“Once underway, the investigation is targeted to last about two months before the team delivers its final assessment,” the agency added.

The U.S. space agency is also reviewing data from the earlier mission to decide whether another unmanned test is needed. Repeating the same test, however, could cost millions of dollars. For now, NASA will try to determine if they have enough data to control the system’s overall performance, including launch, on-orbit operations navigation, and docking. 

“Although data from the uncrewed test is important for certification, it may not be the only way that Boeing is able to demonstrate its system’s full capabilities,” said the agency.

Price Action

Share of Boeing rose 1.06% to close at $337.28 on Tuesday.

Price Action: Courtesy of NASA and Boeing via Wikimedia