Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which was scheduled to take two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on May 6, will remain on the ground for at least another week as engineers chase down a small helium leak.
Additional opportunities to launch are available on June 2, June 5 and June 6.
Officials from Boeing and NASA said they needed the time to understand the problem and develop workarounds.
On May 6, the astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were already strapped in the Starliner when the launch was called off because of a malfunctioning valve in the second stage of the Atlas V rocket.
That problem was unrelated to the Starliner capsule, but then engineers spotted a small helium leak in the Starliner’s propulsion system.
Persons:
Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams
Organizations:
NASA, International, Station, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Boeing, Atlas V
Locations:
Florida