In this handout provided by NASA, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is seen on launch pad 41 in front of a NASA Boeing crew Illuminated by spotlights.
Joel Kosky | NASA | Handout | Getty Images
boeing company Despite “steady” leaks in the spacecraft’s propulsion system, NASA is moving forward with the launch of the company’s Starliner capsule, which will carry American astronauts for the first time.
“We are satisfied that we have identified the cause of this specific leak,” Mark Nappi, Boeing vice president and manager of commercial crew programs, said at a news conference Friday.
“We know we can handle this (the leak), so it’s not actually a flight safety issue,” Nappi added.
Boeing is currently targeting the first crewed launch of its spacecraft on June 1, with backups on June 2, June 5 and June 6.
The mission, known as the “Starliner” crewed flight test, was intended to serve as the capsule’s final major development test before a routine mission to transport two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
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Starliner’s manned debut has been delayed for several years, and since 2020, SpaceX’s competing Dragon capsule has regularly transported astronauts for NASA under NASA’s commercial crew program. The Starliner setbacks have cost Boeing $1.5 billion so far, in addition to nearly $5 billion in lost NASA development funds.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is seen before docking with the International Space Station during the unmanned OFT-2 mission on May 20, 2022.
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NASA and Boeing canceled the launch attempt on May 6 about two hours before liftoff due to problems detected with the Atlas V rocket that will carry Starliner into orbit. Atlas V is built and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corporation.
At a news conference on Friday, a ULA official noted that the rocket’s faulty valve was replaced within a week of the delay.
But after the launch attempt was canceled, a “small” helium leak was discovered in the Starliner, leading Boeing and NASA to begin a new assessment of the safety of the capsule and its mission. “It took us a while to be ready to discuss” the helium leak, Ken Bowersox, NASA’s deputy administrator and one of the agency’s most senior officials, explained to the media on Friday.
“It’s so complicated. There’s a lot going on. We really just have to figure it out as a team,” Powersox said.
After analysis, NASA and Boeing believe the source of the leak is a seal in one of the flanges of the spacecraft’s helium propulsion system. During the delayed test on May 6, Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said the team “has found no change in the leakage rate.”
Stich explained that the plan is to monitor leaks before launch and reassess the leak rate once it reaches the International Space Station.
“We don’t expect the other (seals) to leak, and I think that’s our confidence,” Stich said.
Stich also stressed that NASA has “flighted vehicles with small helium leaks” before, including “several cases” on the Space Shuttle and SpaceX Crew Dragon missions.
NASA, Boeing and ULA will conduct another review on May 29 to review the leak. They plan to roll the rocket and capsule to the launch pad on May 30 for the June 1 attempt.
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