Boeing to redo test flight of uncrewed Starliner spaceship

Boeing will relaunch an uncrewed test flight of its Starliner spaceship, the company said Monday, after an earlier mission failed due to multiple glitches.

The aim of Starliner is to take US astronauts to the International Space Station. A test run in December was ended early when the spacecraft failed to engage its thrusters on time.

Another problem was intermittent space-to-ground communications, impeding the flight control team's ability to command and control the vehicle.

"We have chosen to refly our Orbital Flight Test to demonstrate the quality of the Starliner system," Boeing said.

"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.

"We will then proceed to the tremendous responsibility and privilege of flying astronauts to the International Space Station." A Boeing spokeswoman was quoted by CBS News as saying the company hopes to fly the mission "in the fall of 2020."