Boeing Starliner returns to factory after delayed launch

Boeing returns the CST-100 Starliner to the Commercial Cargo and Crew Processing Facility (C3PF) so it can figure out what caused the spacecraft to miss the August 3 launch.

Starliner was supposed to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, but Boeing said its engineers “detected unexpected indications of valve position in the propulsion system.” during pre-launch preparations, the mission was therefore delayed. .

Boeing initially said it was exploring a possible August 4 launch, but as of August 12, the company said only nine of the 14 affected valves were “open and functioning normally after applying electrical and thermal techniques to induce and control. open them. “

The company then decided to unstack Starliner from the Atlas V rocket in order to be able to return the capsule to the C3PF “for further troubleshooting”. The move will require him to coordinate with NASA and United Launch Alliance on a new launch date after the issue is resolved.

SpaceNews reports that Starliner may not reach the ISS until 2022 due to NASA’s busy schedule. The agency has two launches scheduled for October, according to the report, and Boeing will have to wait for NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-2 spacecraft to return to Earth after October 31.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Boeing has suffered long delays. Starliner was supposed to reach the ISS with the original orbital flight test (OFT) mission in December 2019, but software issues prevented it from reaching the station, and OFT-2 now faces a delay of several month.

“The success of the mission in human spaceflight depends on thousands of factors brought together at the right time,” John Vollmer, vice president and program manager of Boeing Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. “We will continue to work on the issue from the Starliner factory and have decided to withdraw from this launch window to make room for other national priority missions.”