First crewed flight of Boeing spacecraft delayed again

The primary crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spaceship to the Worldwide House Station has been postponed once more because of a technical snafu, the corporate mentioned Tuesday.

The following try shall be Could 21 on the earliest.

The high-stakes mission was already referred to as off final week, with two astronauts strapped in and able to fly.

That was as a result of engineers detected an issue with a valve that regulates liquid oxygen stress on the Atlas V rocket meant to propel Starliner into orbit.

The valve was changed and a brand new launch date of Could 17 was set.

However a brand new downside emerged—a small helium leak in part of Starliner referred to as the service module, which holds devices used to regulate and function the spacecraft.

Engineers want to hold out exams as they attempt to repair the issue, Boeing mentioned in an announcement.

“Helium is utilized in spacecraft thruster programs to permit the thrusters to fireside and isn’t flamable or poisonous,” Boeing mentioned.

Liftoff from Florida is now scheduled for 4:43 pm (2043 GMT) on Could 21.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have returned to Houston as groups work to repair this new glitch and can return to Florida over the following few days, Boeing mentioned.

The mission has already confronted years of delays and comes at a difficult time for Boeing, as a security disaster engulfs the century-old aerospace titan’s industrial aviation arm.

NASA is banking on Starliner’s success so as to obtain its purpose of certifying a second industrial automobile to hold crews to the Worldwide House Station.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX achieved the feat with its Dragon capsule in 2020, ending a virtually decade-long dependence on Russian rockets following the tip of the House Shuttle program.

© 2024 AFP