The launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing’s hard-luck Starliner capsule has been delayed another four days, from Friday to next Tuesday, to give engineers time to make sure a small helium leak in the crew ship’s propulsion system has been resolved, officials said Tuesday.Liftoff from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is now targeted for 4:43 p.m. EDT May 21, setting up a docking at the International Space Station the following afternoon. The flight is expected to conclude with a landing in White Sands, New Mexico, around May 30.Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule in a processing hangar at the Kennedy Space Center, shortly before it was mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. / Credit: William Harwood/CBS NewsMission commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams had hoped to take off on the Starliner’s first piloted flight last Monday. They were in the process of strapping in when the countdown was called off because of trouble with an oxygen pressure relief valve in the rocket’s Centaur upper stage.Two days later, the Atlas 5 was hauled off the launch pad and back to ULA’s nearby Vertical Integration Facility where the suspect valve was replaced. Tests confirmed the rocket is good to go for another launch try.The unrelated helium leak in the Starliner’s propellant pressurization system was noted during the countdown last week, but it remained within safe limits for flight. After the Atlas 5 and Starliner were rolled back to the VIF for the oxygen valve replacement, managers decided to take a closer look at the helium issue.The leak was detected in distribution manifold inside one of four “doghouse” assemblies spaced around the exterior of t …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing’s hard-luck Starliner capsule has been delayed another four days, from Friday to next Tuesday, to give engineers time to make sure a small helium leak in the crew ship’s propulsion system has been resolved, officials said Tuesday.Liftoff from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is now targeted for 4:43 p.m. EDT May 21, setting up a docking at the International Space Station the following afternoon. The flight is expected to conclude with a landing in White Sands, New Mexico, around May 30.Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule in a processing hangar at the Kennedy Space Center, shortly before it was mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. / Credit: William Harwood/CBS NewsMission commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams had hoped to take off on the Starliner’s first piloted flight last Monday. They were in the process of strapping in when the countdown was called off because of trouble with an oxygen pressure relief valve in the rocket’s Centaur upper stage.Two days later, the Atlas 5 was hauled off the launch pad and back to ULA’s nearby Vertical Integration Facility where the suspect valve was replaced. Tests confirmed the rocket is good to go for another launch try.The unrelated helium leak in the Starliner’s propellant pressurization system was noted during the countdown last week, but it remained within safe limits for flight. After the Atlas 5 and Starliner were rolled back to the VIF for the oxygen valve replacement, managers decided to take a closer look at the helium issue.The leak was detected in distribution manifold inside one of four “doghouse” assemblies spaced around the exterior of t …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
