CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The launch of the Starliner spacecraft, set to send astronauts into space, is facing yet another delay, with no new launch date determined.
NASA and Boeing on Tuesday scrubbed the planned Saturday afternoon launch from Florida’s Space Coast as engineers continue to investigate a helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system.
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“The team has been in meetings for two consecutive days, assessing flight rationale, system performance, and redundancy,” NASA said in a statement. “There is still forward work in these areas, and the next possible launch opportunity is still being discussed.”
NASA said it will share more details “once we have a clearer path forward.”
The Starliner crew — commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams — are at Johnson Space Center in Houston. At some point, they will head to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral to make final preparations for launch to the International Space Station.
Starliner has been plagued with issues. Its initial unpiloted test flight in 2019 was derailed by software problems and communications glitches. A second uncrewed test flight was generally successful, but more problems were discovered after its return to Earth, CBS reported.
The recent helium leak was first detected during a launch attempt on May 6.
Check back for updates.
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