First crewed launch of Boeing's spacecraft is delayed yet again due to a new issue
An issue with the capsule's rocket forced the launch to be postponed last week. But now, a new technical issue concerning the Starliner itself has forced another delay.
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NASA officials and Boeing engineers will run tests and try to fix the helium leak before the next possible launch window on May 21 at 4:43 p.m. ET. Helium is used on the Starliner to pressurize the fuel that powers the spacecraft’s thrusters for orbital maneuvering.
The Atlas 5 rocket that launches Starliner into space is built by the Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA). Before attempting to launch Starliner last week, ULA discovered a faulty valve on the Atlas 5 and rolled the rocket off the launchpad to replace the valve.
Sensors on Starliner first detected suspicious traces of helium inside the propulsion system while the spacecraft was on the launchpad last week, but those detections did not raise alarm to engineers at the time, according to a person briefed on the mission operations.
Boeing engineers investigated the helium detections while ULA was replacing the faulty valve on Atlas 5 and determined more testing and scrutiny was needed in order to meet the mission’s strict launch safety criteria, the person said.
