Boeing will launch a 2nd uncrewed test flight of its Starliner spacecraft for NASA

Boeing will take another crack at an uncrewed rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).

In December 2019, the company launched its CST-100 Starliner capsule to the ISS on an uncrewed demonstration mission called Orbital Flight Test (OFT), which was intended to show that the spacecraft can safely carry NASA astronauts. 

But things didn't go as planned: Starliner suffered a glitch with its onboard timing system, got stranded in the wrong orbit and was brought down for a safe landing after circling Earth by itself for two days.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is pictured at the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility in Florida, undergoing inspection after its Orbital Flight Test.
(Image: © Frank Michaux/NASA)

Analyses of OFT data subsequently revealed several serious software issues. Still, it remained unclear whether Boeing would launch another OFT or proceed directly to the next phase of Starliner vetting, a crewed test flight to the ISS.

We now have our answer.

"We have chosen to refly our Orbital Flight Test to demonstrate the quality of the Starliner system," Boeing representatives announced in a statement today (April 6). 

"Flying another uncrewed flight will allow us to complete all flight test objectives and evaluate the performance of the second Starliner vehicle at no cost to the taxpayer," they added. "We will then proceed to the tremendous responsibility and privilege of flying astronauts to the International Space Station."

The statement does not indicate when the second OFT will lift off.

Click here to continue reading on SPACE.com.