The first mission of Boeing’s Starliner to carry astronauts into space has been delayed once again, now scheduled for at least May 21 due to issues with the spacecraft’s propulsion system, as announced by the company on Tuesday.
Initially set to launch last week, the Starliner mission carrying two NASA astronauts was postponed to May 17 due to technical problems with the Atlas 5 rocket. This latest delay adds to the years behind schedule and over $1.5 billion over budget for the project.
Boeing stated that new technical complications with the Starliner itself have led to the postponement of the flight to at least the following Tuesday.
The team working on the Starliner is addressing a minor helium leak found in the spacecraft’s service module, which is used for maneuvers in Earth orbit. The leak is believed to be in a component of one of the propulsion system’s thrusters.
Boeing has been working on the Starliner for over a decade to provide NASA with a spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, developed under the same NASA program, successfully launched astronauts into space in 2020.
The upcoming mission, known as the Manned Flight Test, is expected to be the final test before the spacecraft is certified by NASA for routine astronaut missions to the ISS. After years of technical and administrative hurdles, Boeing successfully completed an uncrewed Starliner flight to the ISS in 2022.
NASA and Boeing engineers will work on fixing the helium leak by the next scheduled launch on May 21. Helium is used to pressurize the fuel for the spacecraft’s thrusters for orbital maneuvers.
The Atlas 5 rocket used to launch the Starliner is made by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Prior to the attempted launch last week, a faulty valve in the Atlas 5 was discovered, leading to the rocket being rolled off the launch pad for repairs.
Suspicious traces of helium in the propulsion system were first detected by Starliner’s sensors on the launch pad last week, but were not recognized by engineers at the time. Boeing engineers investigated the detection while ULA worked on replacing the faulty valve, ensuring that the mission meets launch safety standards.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
