What To Know
- NASA and Boeing have announced a further delay to the launch of the crewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as work to resolve a helium leak continues.
- At that time, the agency announced a delay in the mission’s launch from May 17 to May 21 to allow engineers to characterize the leak and develop a new flight plan.
- There could be an additional window for Starliner to dock with the ISS in late August or early September before the launch of the next SpaceX cargo mission that will occupy the docking port that Starliner is scheduled to use.
NASA and Boeing have announced a further delay to the launch of the crewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as work to resolve a helium leak continues.
Yet another delay for Starliner
There helium leakattached to a flange on a Starliner service module thruster, was first revealed by NASA on May 14. At that time, the agency announced a delay in the mission’s launch from May 17 to May 21 to allow engineers to characterize the leak and develop a new flight plan. On May 17, it announced a further delay of the launch to May 25 to give Boeing engineers more time to work on the leak. They then determined that it was stable and did not pose a risk to the flight. The company was also working to develop operational procedures to ensure that the system maintained sufficient performance and proper redundancy during flight. Finally, NASA has just announced that the Starliner launch scheduled for May 25 with two astronauts on board will still not happen as planned. Apparently, flight safety can no longer be ensured as originally planned by Boeing engineers. Initially, the American space agency had not announcement a new launch date for the mission. It also provided no further information about the helium leak or efforts to clear the vehicle for flight, including any specific concerns that may have led to this latest indefinite delay. Finally, an update issued Wednesday evening (May 22) informs us that liftoff is finally scheduled for June 1. There are backup opportunities on June 2, 5 and 6, NASA officials note.
Illustration of the Starliner capsule in orbit. Credits: Boeing
A busy schedule
As for the timeline, if NASA and Boeing resolve their concerns about the helium leak without requiring lengthy repairs, the International Space Station (ISS) could host Starliner docking. until Julyafter which things should get complicated. The space station will indeed receive several capsules in August (crew and cargo) launched by SpaceX. There could be an additional window for Starliner to dock with the ISS in late August or early September before the launch of the next SpaceX cargo mission that will occupy the docking port that Starliner is scheduled to use. If the Starliner ship is not ready by then, then it will be necessary wait until fallThe black streak continues for the Boeing capsule, which has been experiencing a series of technical glitches since 2020. As a reminder, Starliner was selected by NASA alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule in 2014. Elon Musk’s company carried out its first manned flight to the ISS at the end of 2020, while Boeing only successfully completed its first flight without passengers to the ISS two years ago.
