Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which is scheduled to transport astronauts to the International Space Station this year, still faces safety concerns.
The Starliner spacecraft from Boeing, which will begin transporting NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) this year, has been facing safety concerns since its failed test flight in December 2019.
Boeing admitted on Friday that controllers lost contact with Starliner 37 times during the mission and that investigators are still trying to determine how to correct those issues.
It also confirmed that it failed to run a full simulation of how the spacecraft's software would run from liftoff to docking with the International Space Station and from undocking to landing.
The conduct of such a simulation could possibly have detected software problems that caused the spacecraft to stumble off its path toward the International Space Station, forcing it to make an early landing.
During a briefing on the results of an independent investigation into the failed test, John Mulholland, manager of Boeing's Starliner program, said the company completed "extensive" testing of the software ahead of the December test mission but were only focused on isolated chunks of Starliner's code.
Mulholland argued that the software testing team initially believed they were taking the best approach and assured that the company did not try to take shortcuts. He added: "But obviously we have gaps to fill."
While it is unclear whether Boeing will conduct another uncrewed test flight before doing manned flights, Boeing has allocated $410 million to pay for a second test flight in case NASA orders one.
Mulholland claimed that currently, Boeing and NASA believe they have identified how to correct and prevent the two major software errors that were encountered during the December test flight.
However, a Boeing spokesperson said officials are still working to determine what caused Starliner's communications issues, and answers may not come until late March.
