If you were hoping to see Boeing’s long-delayed Starliner spacecraft finally launch this weekend and head for the International Space Station with its human cargo, you may want to cancel the snacks and reschedule your countdown party, because the launch has been delayed once again, proving that even in the modern era, rocket science remains exactly what it says on the label.
The launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule, part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and presumably not short for “Can’t Start Today,” was originally scheduled for May 6, then nudged politely to May 17 to accommodate some last-minute rocket fussiness. Now, according to an update from NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance, the voyage will not leave the launchpad until no earlier than May 21, because a small but crucial helium leak was discovered in the propulsion system. And just in case anyone was tempted to dismiss it as a mere bubble, experts assure us that space shuttles and helium leaks are natural enemies.
The issue stems from a flange on a single reaction control system thruster in the spacecraft’s service module, which, if you didn’t know, is a part of the ship that is roughly as vital to steering as rudders are to boats, although with significantly more mathematics involved. Engineers have now decided to keep the vehicle right where it is so they can run further testing, paperwork, and presumably a fair amount of muttered frustration.
Once those tests are complete and everyone feels a little better about being in the void of space with no leaks, more information will be provided. For now, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remain earthbound, and one imagines, are trying very hard to remain patient and not think about helium too much.
The Starliner program has already been delayed for years and this flight, known to optimists as the Crew Flight Test, will be the first time Boeing’s capsule carries humans after a series of test missions that could generously be described as “learning opportunities.” NASA, ever diplomatic, says safety is the priority, which is both noble and historically quite sensible when launching people thousands of kilometers above Earth at ludicrous speeds.
So for now, the Starliner remains on the ground, the astronauts stay in Houston, and everyone clings to the ever-promising phrase “no earlier than,” which in space travel is really just polite code for “we’re working on it.”
Turns out, rocket science is hard and helium is stealthy. Film at eleven.