The first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule has yet to launch more than two weeks after the originally scheduled takeoff date, and so far there is no word on when it will do so. In a statement emailed to members of the press Tuesday evening, NASA announced that it would cancel the launch attempt scheduled for May 25. The Starliner crew's inaugural mission has already been rescheduled several times, but in this case, NASA has not set a new date. release date. “NASA will share more details once we have a clearer path forward,” the agency said in its statement, according to SpaceNews.
The first attempt earlier this month was thwarted due to the discovery of a faulty oxygen relief valve on the ULA Atlas V rocket carrying Starliner. Engineers replaced the valve and the Starliner was scheduled to fly later that week, but that attempt was also postponed. On May 14, POT revealed that engineers were working to resolve a helium leak in the spacecraft's propulsion system. In an update a few days later, NASA said the leak was “stable and would not pose a risk at that level during flight.” At that time a new planned release date was set and eventually rescheduled once again, but it seems the problems continue.
“The team has been in meetings for two consecutive days, evaluating flight justification, system performance and redundancy,” the agency said in the latest update, according to SpaceNews. “There is still work ahead in these areas and the next possible launch opportunity is still being discussed.” Delays have defined Starliner development up to this point, but given that two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will be on board for this mission, the stakes are high; Now is not the time to start taking shortcuts.
