2026年9月28日 / 美国东部时间下午7:27 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
美国国家航空航天局（NASA）正与波音公司合作，计划于12月至次年1月期间发射一艘无人版星际客机（Starliner）太空舱，以测试2024年任务后订购的升级改进方案。2024年的那次任务遭遇了多个推进系统故障，导致两名宇航员被困空间站超过九个月。
官方周一表示，如果此次无人试飞进展顺利，NASA和波音有望在2028年中期开展载人版星际客机飞行任务，此次改进将包括重新设计的推进系统阀门、更坚固的子系统以及其他旨在防止2024年同类故障发生的修改。资深宇航员沃伦·“伍迪”·霍伯格将担任此次任务指令长。
太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）的“龙”载人飞船是目前美国唯一一款现役载人航天摆渡船。NASA希望尽快让波音重返载人航天市场，以确保在美国计划于2030年退役国际空间站之前，美国能够持续具备将宇航员和研究人员送往国际空间站的能力。
波音公司肯尼迪航天中心机库中的星际客机航天器。 波音公司
同样重要的是，在SpaceX逐步淘汰其猎鹰9号火箭和“龙”载人飞船之后，NASA管理层希望确保在2030年代后期有美国航天器能够支持飞往商业空间站的飞行任务。
“商业载人航天计划的目标始终是拥有两名载人运输服务商，以确保商业进入近地轨道的途径，”NASA近地轨道运营经理达娜·韦格尔说道。
“正如SpaceX公开声明的那样，‘龙’飞船和猎鹰火箭不会永远存在。认证波音的星际客机对于支持国际空间站任务以及后续的未来商业目的地都至关重要，”韦格尔补充道。
波音公司在X平台上的一篇帖子中表示：“我们与@NASA正在共同推进星际客机的硬件升级，并为载人航天认证增添资源。这些改进将支持该航天器作为长期提供近地轨道载人任务的服务商。”
宇航员巴里·“巴奇”·威尔莫尔和孙妮塔·威廉姆斯均已从NASA退役，他们于2024年6月5日搭乘星际客机升空，原本计划开展为期10天的国际空间站测试飞行。这是星际客机在两次均出现问题的无人试飞之后的首次载人发射。
2024年6月，宇航员巴里·“巴奇”·威尔莫尔和孙妮塔·威廉姆斯搭乘星际客机开展载人航天飞行时升空。 NASA
在与空间站对接的过程中，威尔莫尔和威廉姆斯遭遇了多次推进系统氦气泄漏和推进器故障。他们最终成功完成对接，但由于NASA和波音团队致力于解决技术问题，返回地球的行程被多次推迟。
随后成立的独立审查委员会将此次推进系统事故归类为一起“险些酿成大祸”的事件，该事件将宇航员置于危险境地。
最终，星际客机在发射三个月后无人搭载返回地球。威尔莫尔和威廉姆斯则在空间站多停留了六个月，以便搭乘2025年3月18日的“龙”飞船返回地球。原本预计为期10天的飞行最终持续了286天。
独立审查委员会查明了星际客机存在的三大主要问题，以及一系列需要解决的较轻缺陷。
在与空间站对接期间，太空舱服务舱的五台推进器发生故障，导致暂时丧失全部机动能力。故障原因被归咎于特氟龙“提升阀杆”在推进剂阀门中凸出，限制了流体流通。
审查委员会表示，在星际客机无人返回地球的着陆过程中，乘员舱的一台推进器发生故障，导致该关键系统失去冗余备份。第三大主要问题涉及推进系统加压管道的氦气泄漏。
此外，审查委员会得出结论，星际客机的设计在负责使航天器脱离轨道的火箭点火系统中缺乏必要的冗余设计。
本次载人飞行测试的星际客机在无人搭载返回地球后画面。尽管遭遇重大技术问题，航天器仍安全返回地球。 NASA
波音公司表示，所有这些问题都在解决中，同时还将实施运营变更，以进一步减少导致推进器问题的意外热效应。
该公司正在更换全部12台乘员舱机动推进器的阀门，并采取措施防止侵蚀。服务舱推进器的提升阀杆正在重新设计。同时将加装更快的飞行数据记录仪以更精确地测量推进器性能，升级电池并改进降落伞系统。
NASA和波音目前计划于12月或1月发射一项无人任务——“星际客机1号”，该任务将与空间站交会对接。在飞行过程中，飞行控制人员将全面测试推进器及其加压系统，对修复方案进行验证。
“我们的目标是在航天器和团队准备就绪后尽快执行‘星际客机1号’飞行任务，”韦格尔说道。“我们确实需要了解这些热改性方案在航天器上的运行效果，我们打算全面测试推进系统。”
“我们将开展一系列在轨演示和测试，对推进器施加压力，我们将结合此次任务获得的数据和重新设计的方案，以此为依据完成最终的载人航天器认证，”她继续说道。“在靠近空间站飞行时，我们将在更严格的性能参数下执行‘星际客机1号’任务。”
“从长期来看，我们致力于星际客机的认证工作，确保商业航天团队能够进入近地轨道，”韦格尔补充道。
星际客机此前一直依赖联合发射联盟（ULA）的阿特拉斯5号火箭发射升空，但ULA库存中仅剩六台这款老牌助推器。因此，NASA计划协助ULA将其新型火神火箭认证为可搭载星际客机太空舱执行载人任务的运载工具。
联合发射联盟在X平台的一篇帖子中表示：“我们已经在为‘星际客机1号’任务做准备，并期待继续与@BoeingSpace和@NASA合作，整合并认证我们的#VulcanRocket火箭用于载人航天飞行。”
“我们致力于成为长期为近地轨道提供载人航天能力的发射服务商，”联合发射联盟补充道。
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/internal-investigation-nasa-boeing-starliner-flight/
NASA plans unpiloted Starliner test flight after astronauts got stuck at space station in 2024
September 28, 2026 / 7:27 PM EDT / CBS News
NASA is working with Boeing to launch an unpiloted Starliner capsule in the December-to-January time frame to test upgrades and improvements ordered in the wake of a 2024 mission that suffered multiple propulsion system failures, stranding two astronauts on the space station for more than nine months.
If the unpiloted test flight goes well, NASA and Boeing hope to launch a piloted Starliner flight in the mid-2028 time frame, officials said Monday, incorporating redesigned propulsion system valves, more robust subsystems and other modifications expected to prevent the sort of failures that occurred in 2024. Veteran astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg will command the mission.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule is the only currently operational U.S. astronaut ferry ship. NASA wants to bring Boeing back into the mix as soon as possible to ensure a sustained U.S. capability to carry astronauts and researchers to the International Space Station through its planned retirement in 2030.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, seen in the company’s Kennedy Space Center hangar. Boeing
Equally important, NASA managers want to make sure an American spacecraft will be available to support flights to commercial space stations later in the 2030s, after SpaceX phases out its Falcon 9 rockets and Crew Dragon spacecraft.
“It’s always been the Commercial Crew Program’s goal to have two crew transportation providers to ensure commercial access to low Earth orbit,” said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s low-Earth orbit operations.
“As SpaceX has publicly stated, the Dragon and the Falcon won’t be around forever. Certifying Boeing’s Starliner is important for both supporting ISS and also for follow-on future commercial destinations,” Weigel said.
Said Boeing in a post on X: “Together with @NASA, we’re making Starliner hardware enhancements and adding resources for human spaceflight certification. These changes support the spacecraft as a long-term provider of crewed missions to low Earth orbit.”
Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams, both now retired from NASA, blasted off aboard a Starliner on June 5, 2024, for what was billed as a 10-day test flight to the International Space Station. It was the first piloted launch of a Starliner after two uncrewed test flights, both of which had problems.
Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams blast off on the Starliner’s piloted spaceflight in June 2024. NASA
During their rendezvous with the space station, Wilmore and Williams ran into multiple propulsion system helium leaks and thruster failures. They were able to dock, but their return to Earth was repeatedly delayed while NASA and Boeing worked to resolve the technical issues.
An independent review board later classified the propulsion mishaps as a “close call” that put the astronauts in jeopardy.
When all was said and done, the Starliner returned to Earth without its crew three months after launch. Wilmore and Williams stayed an additional six months aboard the station in order to hitch a ride home aboard a Crew Dragon on March 18, 2025. All told, the 10-day flight they expected ended up lasting 286 days.
An independent review board identified three major problems with the Starliner, along with a host of less severe shortcomings that had to be addressed.
During the rendezvous with the space station, five thrusters in the capsule’s service module failed, resulting in a temporary loss of full maneuverability. The failures were blamed on trouble with Teflon “poppets” extruding in propellant valves that restricted flow.
A thruster in the Starliner crew module failed during the ship’s unpiloted descent to Earth, leaving the ship without redundancy in a critical system, the board said. The third major issue involved helium leaks in the propulsion system pressurization plumbing.
In addition, the review board concluded, the Starliner design did not have the required redundancy in the system responsible for the rocket firing needed to drop the spacecraft out of orbit.
The Crew Flight Test Starliner, seen after returning to Earth without its crew. The spacecraft made it back to Earth safely despite major technical issues. NASA
Boeing said all of those issues are being addressed, along with operational changes intended to further reduce unexpected heating that contributed to the thruster problems.
The company is replacing the valves in all 12 crew module maneuvering thrusters, along with implementing measures to prevent erosion. The service module thruster poppets are being redesigned. A faster flight data recorder is being added to more precisely measure thruster performance, along with upgraded batteries and improved parachutes.
NASA and Boeing now plan to launch an unpiloted mission — Starliner 1 — in December or January that will rendezvous and dock with the space station. Along the way, flight controllers will thoroughly exercise the thrusters and their pressurization systems, putting the fixes to the test.
“Our goal is to fly Starliner One as soon as the vehicle and the team is ready,” Weigel said. “We really need to see how those thermal modifications perform on the spacecraft, and we intend to put the propulsion system through its paces.”
“We’ll do a series of on-orbit demonstrations and tests, stress the thrusters, and we’ll take that set of data coming out of the mission combined with redesign, and that’s what will inform the final crewed vehicle certification,” she continued. “We will fly the Starliner One mission with stricter performance parameters in place when we’re flying closer to the space station.”
“Long term, we are committed to Starliner certification and ensuring commercial crew access to low Earth orbit,” Weigel added.
The Starliner has relied on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rockets for the ride to space, but only a half dozen of the venerable boosters remain in ULA’s inventory. As a result, NASA plans to help get ULA’s new Vulcan rocket certified to carry astronauts aboard Starliner capsules.
For its part, ULA said in a post on X that “we are already working towards the Starliner-1 mission and look forward to our continued work with @BoeingSpace and @NASA to integrate and certify our #VulcanRocket for human spaceflight.”
“We are committed to being a long-term launch provider of human spaceflight capability to low Earth orbit,” ULA added.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/internal-investigation-nasa-boeing-starliner-flight/
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