Technologies

Boeing Starliner test flight to ISS pushed back to 2022

A planned launch in August didn’t work out, and now it looks like we’ll have to wait a while.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft continues to have trouble making it to the International Space Station, with its uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 to the ISS now getting pushed into next year. The test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which sees the space agency working with private companies like Boeing and SpaceX to shuttle astronauts to the station.

NASA said Friday that the team behind OFT-2 «is working toward launch opportunities in the first half of 2022.» That follows a scrubbed launch this past August. In December 2019, the first major Starliner flight test didn’t go as planned, with the uncrewed spacecraft launching, but experiencing a timing glitch and failing to reach the ISS. It did, however, safely return to Earth.

The issue now, with OGT-2, has to do with an «oxidizer isolation valve issue on the Starliner service module propulsion system,» NASA said yesterday in a blog post.

«This is a complex issue involving hazardous commodities and intricate areas of the spacecraft that are not easily accessed. It has taken a methodical approach and sound engineering to effectively examine,» Steve Stich, manager of the Commercial Crew Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, said in the post.

In addition to trying to achieve NASA’s goal of «safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit,» the Commercial Crew Program ties in with the space agency’s Artemis and Moon to Mars plans. Artemis calls for putting the first woman and next man on the moon sometime soon, and eventually setting up sustainable exploration there. Knowledge gained from Artemis will be put to use in getting ready to send astronauts to the red planet.

So far, SpaceX and its Crew Dragon spacecraft have had better luck than Boeing when it comes to the Commercial Crew Program. After some delays of its own, the Elon Musk-founded company completed its Demo-1 uncrewed test mission in 2019 and has since shuttled astronauts to the ISS several times. Earlier this week, NASA said it was reassigning a pair of astronauts from Boeing missions to an upcoming SpaceX mission. In April, NASA announced it had selected SpaceX to provide the human landing system for the Artemis program.

There’s a space-tourism angle for SpaceX as well. In June, the company signed a deal to send space tourists to the ISS starting next year (at a reported $55 million price tag per seat). And last month SpaceX took a step in that direction when its Inspiration4 mission sent a crew composed of private citizens orbiting around the Earth.

It’s not clear when, exactly, Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will happen.

«Potential launch windows for OFT-2 continue to be assessed by NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, and the Eastern Range,» NASA said in its post. «The team currently is working toward opportunities in the first half of 2022 pending hardware readiness, the rocket manifest, and space station availability.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Feb. 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 2

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? There are some tough clues today. Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Rock band with albums like «High Voltage» and «Flick of the Switch»
Answer: ACDC

5A clue: Stuck doing the same old, same old
Answer: INARUT

7A clue: Burning up
Answer: ONFIRE

8A clue: -tion, for one
Answer: SUFFIX

9A clue: Jared of 2025’s «Tron: Ares»
Answer: LETO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Declare void, as a marriage
Answer: ANNUL

2D clue: ___ macchiato (espresso drink)
Answer: CAFFE

3D clue: Begin to veer off the road, say
Answer: DRIFT

4D clue: Odd little trinket
Answer: CURIO

5D clue: What Apple smartphones run on
Answer: IOS

6D clue: ___-Mex cuisine
Answer: TEX

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 2, #497

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 2, No. 497.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. It helps to know a lot about two distinct locations and their sports teams. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Lone Star State.

Green group hint: Think of the Arch.

Blue group hint: You put cereal in this.

Purple group hint: Not four or six.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Texas college teams.

Green group: St. Louis teams.

Blue group: Can be followed by «bowl.»

Purple group: ____ five.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Texas college teams. The four answers are Aggies, Cougars, Horned Frogs and Longhorns.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is St. Louis teams. The four answers are Billikens, Vlues, Cardinals and St. Louis City.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is can be followed by «bowl.» The four answers are pro, senior, shrine and super.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ five. The four answers are fab, fierce, high and starting.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 2, #967

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 2 #967

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a fun one for fans of Agatha Christie, as the last name of one of her detectives shows up in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Time.

Green group hint: Need to get in.

Blue group hint: Characters in a certain genre of books.

Purple group hint: They grow in the forest, sometimes, but there’s a twist.