The first crewed space flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, previously scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed again, NASA announced without giving a new takeoff date.
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“The next possible takeoff opportunity is still under discussion,” NASA said in a statement sent to journalists late Tuesday evening.
The launch of this mission to the International Space Station (ISS), crucial for Boeing and awaited for years, has already been postponed numerous times.
The latest problem is a “small helium leak” detected on the spacecraft, announced last week by NASA, which ordered this vehicle from Boeing ten years ago to transport its astronauts to the ISS.
“There is still work to be done,” the US space agency said on Tuesday, promising to provide “more details” as soon as possible.
The takeoff was canceled at the last moment on May 6 – while the two astronauts forming the crew were already installed on board – because of a problem with a valve of the rocket, now resolved.
But since then, it is the helium leak which has continued to cause the postponement of a new launch attempt.
The development of Starliner was years behind schedule due to a series of unpleasant surprises, including a first test flight to the ISS without a crew on board, finally carried out in 2022.
Boeing was thus beaten by SpaceX, which has already played the role of space taxi for NASA astronauts since 2020. The American space agency, however, wishes to have a second vehicle to be able to better manage possible emergency situations in the station or problems on one of the capsules.
