NASA and Boeing set June 1 launch date for Starliner
Posted: Mon, May 27, 2024, 9:21 AM ET (1321 GMT)
NASA and Boeing are targeting a June 1 launch of the first crewed CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after resolving a helium leak in the spacecraft. At a briefing Friday, officials said they had concluded a helium leak in one thruster in the spacecraft, which caused a series of launch postponements, was not a safety risk and could be managed without repairing the faulty component, a process that would have taken months. During that review, engineers discovered a "design vulnerability" in Starliner's propulsion system that could have prevented the spacecraft from performing a deborit burn in the event of a rare series of failures. A new backup deorbit burn approach has been developed as a workaround for this launch while Boeing investigates long-term hardware or software changes for future missions.
NASA and Boeing are targeting a June 1 launch of the first crewed CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after resolving a helium leak in the spacecraft. At a briefing Friday, officials said they had concluded a helium leak in one thruster in the spacecraft, which caused a series of launch postponements, was not a safety risk and could be managed without repairing the faulty component, a process that would have taken months. During that review, engineers discovered a "design vulnerability" in Starliner's propulsion system that could have prevented the spacecraft from performing a deborit burn in the event of a rare series of failures. A new backup deorbit burn approach has been developed as a workaround for this launch while Boeing investigates long-term hardware or software changes for future missions.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, January 11
Sidus Space Appoints Aerospace Executive Kelle Wendling to Board of Directors
Sidus Space — 6:25 pm ET (2325 GMT) Astronomers Reveal Hidden Lives of the Early Universe’s Ultramassive Galaxies
Keck Observatory — 6:23 pm ET (2323 GMT) ThinkOrbital Inc. Announces Seed Round Led by TFX Capital to Accelerate Defense-Driven Space Capabilities, On-Orbit Servicing, and In-Space Construction
ThinkOrbital — 6:19 pm ET (2319 GMT) Starlab and Seven Grand Managers Announce Strategic Investment
Voyager Space — 6:17 pm ET (2317 GMT) Unprecedented Data on Global River Quality, Quantity Now Gathered From Space, Powered by UMass Amherst-Built Software
Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst — 6:17 pm ET (2317 GMT) |
