The first mission of Boeing's Starliner to take humans into space was postponed until May 21 due to problems with the spacecraft's propulsion system, Boeing reported this Tuesday (14).
The Starliner mission with two astronauts from NASA was scheduled to take off from Florida last week towards space, but a technical problem with the Atlas 5 rocket had already caused a postponement for next Friday (17).
One new technical problem now with Starliner itself, generated another postponement until at least next Tuesday (21), according to a statement from Boeing.
“Starliner teams are working to resolve a small helium leak detected in the spacecraft's service module,” Boeing said, adding that engineers located the leak in a component of one of the 28 thruster controls that are used to maneuver in Earth orbit.
This is the latest delay for a program that is years behind schedule and more than US$1.5 billion (around R$7.7 billion) above budget .
Boeing has been developing Starliner for more than a decade to give NASA a second U.S. spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. The capsule Crew Dragon, from SpaceX built under the same NASA program, launched humans into space for the first time in 2020.
Starliner's current mission will be the last test before the spacecraft is certified by NASA to perform routine astronaut flight missions to the station. Boeing completed an uncrewed Starliner trip to the station in 2022 after years of technical and administrative problems.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
