Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in preflight quarantine, now returning to Houston to spend time with families during delay
Boeing has a storied history in space exploration, but recent safety concerns surrounding commercial aviation arm have cast shadow over company's reputation
Boeing's Starliner is a crucial part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft launch to International Space Station delayed due to helium leak
Leak traced to a flange on a single reaction control system thruster
Mission faces numerous delays due to technical issues with various spacecraft elements
NASA and Boeing teams targeting launch date of May 21, 2024 at 4:43 p.m. EDT for additional testing
The first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station has been delayed once again due to a helium leak in the service module. The leak was traced to a flange on a single reaction control system thruster, where helium is used to allow the thrusters to fire. NASA and Boeing teams are now targeting a launch date of no earlier than 4:43 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 21, to complete additional testing.
The highly anticipated mission has faced numerous delays over the years due to various technical issues with elements of the spacecraft ranging from valves to parachutes. Boeing's Starliner is a crucial part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which aims to certify a second commercial vehicle, alongside SpaceX's Dragon capsule, for carrying crews to the International Space Station.
The two astronauts set for the mission, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, have been in preflight quarantine but have returned to Houston to spend time with their families during the delay. NASA plans for Boeing's Starliner to launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
Boeing has a storied history in space exploration, dating back to the Mercury program, Gemini program, and Apollo program. However, recent safety concerns surrounding its commercial aviation arm have cast a shadow over the company's reputation.
NASA and Boeing have delayed the first crewed flight of Starliner due to a helium leak in its propulsion system.
The leak was traced to a flange in one thruster.
Boeing is working on developing operational procedures to ensure the system retains sufficient performance capability during the flight.
Accuracy
Helium leak in the propulsion system
Delay due to helium leak
Traced to a flange in one thruster
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(90%)
No fallacies found in the author's statements. However, there are some examples of inflammatory rhetoric and appeals to authority from quoted sources.
. . . NASA and Boeing have once again delayed first crewed flight...
In a statement late May 17, NASA announced that the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, previously scheduled for May 21, has been pushed back to no earlier than May 25 at 3:09 p.m. Eastern...
According to industry sources, the leak was detected during the May 6 countdown that was scrubbed because of an unrelated valve issue with the Atlas 5 Centaur upper stage.
Boeing's Starliner launch has been delayed due to a helium leak in the service module.
The leak was traced to a flange on a single reaction control system thruster.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been in preflight quarantine but returned to Houston to spend time with their families during the delay.
