Boeing has struggled with further problems with its space capsule in recent weeks but is now aiming to launch its first astronauts in early June.
Company and NASA officials said Friday that a thorough investigation shows the Starliner capsule can safely transport two test pilots to the International Space Station despite the leak in its propulsion system. The small helium leak was discovered after the first launch attempt on May 6, which was aborted due to an unrelated problem with the rocket that has now been resolved.
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Engineers suspect a defect in a rubber seal about the size of a shirt button, but say they can address the leak during flight even if it worsens. All of the capsule’s other seals have been checked, and managers are targeting a June 1 launch, said Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager.
This will be Starliner’s third test flight – two demos in 2019 and 2022 were passenger-free, and Boeing had to repeat the unmanned flight after software and other flaws with the first flight.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule aboard an Atlas V rocket is photographed at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, a day after a mission to the International Space Station was aborted due to an issue with a pressure relief valve. Boeing is now aiming for its first astronaut launch in early June. Company and NASA officials said Friday, May 24, that after weeks of investigations, the capsule was found to be safe to fly with two test pilots on board, despite a small leak in the propulsion system. (AP Photo/John Laux)
Starliner would have launched from Cape Canaveral earlier this month and the leak would have been detected for the first time in orbit had it not been for a faulty valve on the Atlas V rocket that aborted the initial countdown, Stich said. Flight controllers would have managed the leak and the astronauts would have been safe, officials stressed. Helium is used to pressurize fuel lines for the propulsion system that steers the capsule in flight.
Engineers now know where the leak is, “which will help us improve the system in the future,” said Mark Nappi, a Boeing program manager.
“Remember, this is a test flight. We’re still learning,” Nappi told reporters.
Identifying Starliner’s leak uncovered yet another problem: a “design vulnerability” in the propulsion system in the unlikely event of a consecutive failure, Stich said, adding that the team developed a workaround to safely deorbit the capsule at the end of the flight if such a problem were to occur.
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“We won’t fly it until we know it’s safe,” said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Freeh.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is already years behind schedule in ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA, while SpaceX has been launching astronauts there since 2020. NASA wants the two companies to provide taxi services so they can assist each other.
