Particle.news
Download on the App Store
32 ARTICLES
·
last yr.

NASA Confirms Boeing's Starliner Ready for June 1 Launch Despite Helium Leak

Extensive analysis shows the leak poses no flight safety risk; engineers devise workaround for propulsion system flaw.

Image
Image
Image
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is the first launch with astronauts aboard the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The flight test, targeted for launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Overview

  • NASA and Boeing officials have conducted thorough tests and data reviews over nearly three weeks.
  • A small helium leak was traced to a defective rubber seal in the Starliner's propulsion system.
  • The leak is stable and can be managed even if it worsens significantly during flight.
  • Engineers identified a rare design flaw that could affect the spacecraft's deorbit burn capability.
  • A new method was developed to ensure safe re-entry despite the design vulnerability.