Boeing announced on Tuesday that the first Starliner mission carrying humans to space has been postponed until May 21 due to issues with the spacecraft’s propulsion system.
Originally scheduled for liftoff last week from Florida, the mission faced delays after a technical problem with its Atlas 5 rocket, pushing the launch date to Friday, May 17. This delay is the latest setback for a program that has faced years of delays and exceeded its budget by over $1.5 billion.
However, a new technical issue, this time involving the Starliner spacecraft itself, has led to another postponement to at least next Tuesday, Boeing revealed in a statement.
Boeing stated, “Starliner teams are working to resolve a small helium leak detected in the spacecraft’s service module.” Engineers have identified the leak to a component on one of the propulsion system’s 28 control thrusters, which are crucial for maneuvering in Earth’s orbit.
Boeing has been working on the Starliner project for over a decade, aiming to provide NASA with a second U.S. spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, developed under the same NASA program, successfully launched humans into space in 2020.
The upcoming mission, named the Crewed Flight Test, serves as the final trial before Starliner is certified by NASA for routine astronaut missions to the ISS. Boeing previously completed an uncrewed trip to the ISS with Starliner in 2022, following years of technical and managerial challenges.