Boeing Starliner’s first crewed mission delayed over propellant leak, testing

Boeing Starliner’s first crewed mission has been postponed again, this time citing a propellant leak and the need for additional testing, the company announced Tuesday.

The aerospace company’s first Starliner mission, which will carry two NASA astronauts into space, has been postponed until at least next week.

“The team is currently targeting a launch date by 4:43 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 21st, to complete additional testing,” Boeing said. Said In the release.

The original takeoff date was May 17, but the flight of the company’s Starline capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) was postponed due to a “small” helium leak.

“The Starliner team has confirmed that a small helium leak detected in the spacecraft’s service module was caused by a single reaction control system thruster flange and is working to resolve it,” Boeing said in a statement. said. “Helium is used in spacecraft thruster systems to enable thruster firing and is neither flammable nor toxic.”

The delay comes a week after another launch plan was canceled due to valve problems. Last week’s suspension was introduced by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) due to “observations regarding the liquid oxygen self-regulating solenoid relief valve on the Centaur upper stage.”

Boeing has been developing Starliner for more than a decade, hoping to provide NASA with an American spacecraft that can shuttle astronauts to and from the ISS.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule first carried astronauts in 2020. It was also manufactured under NASA.

The Atlas 5 rocket, built by ULA, will be responsible for launching Starliner.

SpaceX has completed at least nine manned flights, while Boeing has only completed two unmanned flights. NASA gave $4 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX for its development.