CHRONOLOGY-Boeing's troubled 787

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N)> is set to make the first test flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner on Tuesday -- more than two years after the first target date in the summer of 2007.
The No. 2 plane-maker behind EADS (EAD.PA) unit Airbus has been struggling with a range of supply, manufacturing and design problems, made worse by a two-month strike at Boeing's Seattle-area plants last year.
The following events show the slow and bumpy progress of the revolutionary, carbon composite aircraft, which is key to Boeing's financial success.
2002 - Boeing drops its "Sonic Cruiser" concept, responding to airlines' calls for better fuel efficiency rather than extra speed.
June 2003 - Dubs its new, carbon-composite airplane the "Dreamliner"
Dec 2003 - Approves an initial version of the plane with the temporary name 7E7, the E standing for "efficiency"
April 2004 - officially launches the plane as Japan's All Nippon Airways (9202.T) (ANA) orders 50
Dec 2004 - Ends 2004 with 56 orders for the new plane, fewer than it had expected
Jan 2005 - Gives plane official designation 787
Dec 2005 - Ends year with 232 orders for 787s, for a running total of 288
July 2006 - Popularity of 787 design forces Airbus to go back to drawing board on its competing A350, relaunching it as A350 XWB (extra wide body)
Dec 2006 - Boeing ends year with 160 orders for 787s, for running total of 448
Jan 2007 - Unconfirmed talk of some 787 suppliers falling behind schedule sends Boeing shares lower. Boeing CEO Jim McNerney says plane on target for first test flight around end of August 2007 and first delivery May 2008
May 2007 - Starts to put together first 787 in Everett, Washington.
June 2007 - Reports surface at Paris Air Show that 787 is up to four months late. Boeing says first test flight may slip to September 2007, while still on schedule for first delivery in May 2008
July 8, 2007 - Gleaming shell of first 787 rolled out in front of 15,000 ecstatic employees and customers at Everett
July 25, 2007 - Boeing shares hit all-time high of $107.80, boosted by strong 787 orders. Company admits plane running slightly behind in certain areas but holds to schedule
Sept 2007 - Boeing puts back first test flight by about three months because of a shortage of bolts and problems with flight control software. Shifts flight target to mid-November to mid-December 2007; keeps May 2008 delivery target
Oct 2007 - Announces longer delay, due to continued production problems, pushing first test flight to end-March 2008 and putting back first delivery by about six months to late November or December 2008
Oct 2007 - 787 program head Mike Bair replaced by Pat Shanahan from Boeing's defense unit
Dec 2007 - Boeing says 787 sticking to revised schedule; ends year with 369 orders for the plane in 2007, for running total of 817
Jan 2008 - After two weeks of rumors, Boeing announces a further three-month delay due to problems with unnamed suppliers and slow assembly progress at Everett plant. Pushes back test flight to end-June 2008 and first delivery to early 2009, making plane about nine months behind original schedule
March 2008 - Admits it had to redesign center wing box to make it stronger
April 2008 - Announces third major delay due to continuing problems with unfinished work from suppliers. Sets first test flight for fourth quarter 2008 and first delivery for third quarter 2009, about 15 months behind original schedule
June 2008 - Boeing completes "power-on" testing on first Dreamliner, bringing the plane's electrical systems to life. It is the first public milestone the company has hit on the program.
August - First cancellation of a 787 order, by Azerbaijan Airlines
Sept 6, 2008 - Boeing's assembly workers go on strike over contract terms, shutting down Boeing's Seattle-area plants. They return to work in early November after 58 days out. Nov 4, 2008 - Boeing says first flight delayed by strike, will not happen until 2009
Dec 11, 2008 - Boeing announces fourth major delay, due to strike and continuing fastener problems. Says first flight now set for second quarter of 2009 and first delivery in first quarter of 2010, making plane about two years late
Dec. 31, 2008 - Boeing ends year with 93 orders for 787s, making a running total of 910
Jan 2009 - Russia's S7 becomes first major airline to cancel orders for 787, walking away from deal to buy 15 planes worth $2.4 billion. More cancellations follow
June - Boeing reports 59 total cancellations for 787s, with net orders for 866 planes.
June 23, 2009 - Announces fifth delay due to side panel issue
Aug 27, 2009 - Sets new timetable, with first flight by end of 2009 and first delivery in fourth quarter of 2010
Aug 31, 2009 - Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Scott Carson announces retirement at end of the year, is replaced immediately by Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's defense business
Nov 12, 2009 - Boeing completes installing reinforcements within the side-of-body section on the first 787 Dreamliner.
Dec. 10, 2009 -- Boeing opens flight-test window starting Dec. 15. (Reporting by Bill Rigby and Kyle Peterson, editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Gary Hill)