Boeing, NASA prepare for second flight test of new Starliner despite leak on spacecraft

After a failed launch attempt of Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule on May 6, NASA and the aerospace company are prepared for a second go — even though the spacecraft will be flying with a small helium leak.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad on Thursday at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, ahead of NASA’s Boeing crew flight test planned for Saturday.

The leak was detected on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on which the capsule is hitching a ride. The leak was discovered in a small control jet that helps the capsule make small adjustments while in orbit. However, there are 28 of these jets, and the teams working on the issue ensured that none of the others could fail. Helium is an inert gas and not combustible.The reason given for not fixing the leak was that it would have caused further delays to a launch that has faced years of setbacks.

When Starliner re-enters the atmosphere, it needs to lose a great deal of speed. It has three different ways of doing this — referred to as redundancy capabilities. One approach uses four special thrusters , another uses just two and the third approach uses eight smaller thrusters. "This is an important flight for us. It is not easy. I've been in human spaceflight for 37 years, and there's challenges with every single flight," Stich said of the findings. "There were challenges with space shuttle, there's challenges with the Orion vehicle that we're learning about as we flew that test flight, and there's challenges in every vehicle."

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Boeing Starliner’s debut crewed flight delayed again to check helium leakNASA, Boeing delay launch of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule because of helium link
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

Boeing's Starliner capsule set for first crewed space flight, to compete with SpaceXBoeing's new Starliner astronaut capsule was poised for launch on Monday night on a much-delayed first crewed test flight to orbit, as the company scrambles to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX for a greater share of lucrative NASA business.
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Timeline: Boeing's new Starliner set for first crewed flight to space stationExplore stories from Atlantic Canada.
Source: SaltWire Network - 🏆 45. / 63 Read more »

Timeline: Boeing's new Starliner set for first crewed flight to space stationExplore stories from Atlantic Canada.
Source: SaltWire Network - 🏆 45. / 63 Read more »

Boeing's new Starliner capsule set for first crewed flight to space stationBoeing's new Starliner astronaut capsule was poised for a Monday night launch of its long-delayed inaugural crewed test flight to the International Space Station, two years after its first voyage without humans to the orbital laboratory.
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Boeing's new Starliner capsule set for first crewed flight to space stationExplore stories from Atlantic Canada.
Source: SaltWire Network - 🏆 45. / 63 Read more »