Boeing's Starliner mission faces another week's delay due to a helium leak.
The planned launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft was initially set for May 17, but had to be pushed back due to the discovery of a small helium leak in the service module. According to a statement from Boeing, the leak was traced to a flange on a single reaction control system thruster, where helium is utilized to ignite the thrusters.
Now, the launch is scheduled for no earlier than 4:43 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 21, to allow teams to conduct additional testing. This upcoming mission, known as the Crew Flight Test, could be the final major milestone before NASA declares Boeing's spacecraft ready for regular operations with the Commercial Crew Program.
Both Boeing and NASA are working on addressing the leak. Boeing plans to take the propulsion system to the same pressure it would reach just before launch and then allow the helium system to naturally vent.
A review of data from a previous launch attempt on May 6 revealed no other issues, according to Boeing.
The two NASA astronauts scheduled to crew the mission, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, had been in preflight quarantine but returned to Houston on May 10 for time with their families while in town for the launch. They plan to return to Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the near future.
This event has been a decade in the making for Boeing, representing the company's efforts to create a spacecraft that can safely transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station in collaboration with NASA. It will be the sixth US historical first in crewed spaceflight, following Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle, and SpaceX's Dragon.
The launch would also mark a significant milestone as Williams would become the first woman to join such a mission.
Development challenges, test flight problems, and other expenses have necessitated an extended timeline for the Starliner's journey to the launchpad compared to Boeing's primary competitor in NASA's commercial crew program, SpaceX.
The launch was initially scheduled for May 6, but was halted when an issue with a pressure regulation valve in a liquid oxygen tank was uncovered. The new problem with the helium leak now affects the Boeing spacecraft and resulted in even more delay.
If the launch takes place next week as anticipated, the Starliner spacecraft and its passengers will separate from the Atlas V rocket after reaching orbit and proceed to ignite their own engines. The capsule is estimated to take over 24 hours to reach the International Space Station.
Following their week-long stay at the station, Williams and Wilmore will return home on the same Starliner capsule, which is anticipated to parachute into a designated landing site in the southwestern United States.
CNN's Jackie Wattles and Ashley Strickland contributed to this report.
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The Starliner's mission to transport astronauts to the International Space Station is crucial for Boeing, serving as a significant milestone in their collaboration with NASA and marking the sixth US historical first in crewed spaceflight. Due to the helium leak delay, the scheduled launch date has been pushed back to May 21, impacting the world's space exploration plans.
Source: edition.cnn.com
