Elijah Williams
Boeing’s launch Starliner spacecraft crossed by the stars on its first piloted test flight is pushing back until at least June 1 to give engineers more time to evaluate a small but persistent helium leak in the capsule’s propulsion system and its potential impact on all phases of flight, NASA announced. on Wednesday.
Already years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget, Starliner’s path to launch It’s been surprisingly difficultwith several problems leading to its first crew flight test, which is now almost a month beyond the May 6 target.
United Launch Alliance
This launch attempt was canceled due to problem not related to a valve on the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that was quickly fixed. But the helium leak in the Starliner’s service module, detected during the May 6 countdown, proved more difficult to resolve, to everyone’s satisfaction.
At the time, NASA officials said the leak was within acceptable limits and would not have triggered a launch on its own. But after additional inspections — and a failed attempt to eliminate the leak by tightening bolts on a flange where it appeared to originate — mission managers began a more comprehensive analysis.
Helium helps pressurize the spacecraft’s propulsion system, and if there is excessive gas leakage — the thrusters used for launch aborts, in-orbit maneuvers to rendezvous with the International Space Station, and departure and reentry — everyone could be affected. While the leak appears stable, NASA is looking for a “flight justification” that shows it won’t get worse during flight.
“As part of this work, and unrelated to the current leak, which remains stable, teams are in the process of completing a subsequent assessment of the propulsion system to understand the potential impacts of the helium system in some Starliner return scenarios,” it said. NASA in a statement. Wednesday afternoon.
This will be the subject of a second flight readiness review in the coming days. Meanwhile, mission commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and copilot Sunita Williams will remain at the Johnson Space Center practicing procedures in high-fidelity flight simulators. They will fly back to Florida next week if mission managers clear the Starliner launch.
A June 1 launch — the same day SpaceX may target the next flight of its Super Heavy-Starship rocket — would be timed for 12:25 p.m. EDT, roughly the time Earth’s rotation takes Pad 41 into the Station of the Cape Canaveral Space Force. in Florida, in the plane of the space station’s orbit.
If all goes well, the crew would dock at the laboratory’s forward port on June 2 and return to Earth with a landing in White Sands, New Mexico, on June 10. Assuming there were no major problems, NASA hopes to certify the Starliner for operational crew rotation. flights to the station starting next year, alternating with those from SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
But that will require a full “human rating certification” for the Starliner, and that will depend on the crew’s flight test results.
“It is important that we take the time to understand the full complexities of each issue, including the redundant capabilities of the Starliner propulsion system and any implications for our provisional human rating certification,” said Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager.
“We will launch Butch and Suni on this test mission after the entire community has reviewed the teams’ progress and flight rationale” at the next flight readiness review, Stich added.
