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Editor’s Note: At 2:30 p.m. EDT (6:30 p.m. GMT), the restoration was complete. This story has been updated to include a photo of the rocket and capsule on the way back inside.
by Boeing Starliner the capsule will go back inside for more checks after skip a launch Tuesday attempted when indications suggested a problem with a valve in the vehicle’s propulsion system.
Ground crews will return the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the vertical integration facility at Space Station Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday (August 5), NASA confirmed in a statement. declaration. The move gives engineers direct access to the Starliner capsule, which officials say will help them track down the elusive valve problem.
“The team is unwavering in their commitment to identifying root causes and determining next steps,” John Vollmer, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s commercial crew program, said in a statement. company statement. “Developing solutions in a disciplined manner and letting data guide our planning is essential and the team strives to ensure that our spacecraft flies when ready. “
Related: Boeing’s Starliner OFT-2 mission explained
Following: Boeing Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2: Live Updates
The rocket has already made the slow trek from the launch pad at the Vertical Integration Facility on Friday July 30. Starliner was aiming for the launch that day of its crucial Orbital Test Flight 2 (OFT-2) mission to the International space station. But the day before the launch, and just hours after Starliner arrived on the launch pad, mission teams delayed the mission until Tuesday (August 3). Considering the gap between the launch opportunities and the threatening weather conditions, Starliner went inside to take cover.
This launch delay came in response to upheaval on the space station. The long-awaited Russian science module Nauka arrived at the orbiting laboratory earlier today on July 29. After docking, a software error has gone wrong fired the thrusters from the module, sending the station twisting in space. NASA and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, installed the complex in 45 minutes, but the agency decided it would be wise not to immediately dispatch another new vehicle until the station has had time to recover. calm down from the excitement.
The next launch opportunity available for the mission was only Tuesday afternoon. But more than two hours before the scheduled take-off, officials announced the team was withdrawing from the attempt due to “unexpected valve position indications” in Starliner’s propulsion system.
Checks and troubleshooting on the pad throughout Tuesday and through Wednesday (August 4th) failed to resolve the issue, hence today’s grumpy return to the vertical integration facility. .
“The Boeing and NASA teams are working methodically to figure out what caused the valve indications on the Starliner service module propulsion system,” said Steve Stich, commercial crew program manager, in the statement. the agency. “Troubleshooting in the vertical integration facility will help focus on potential causes and next steps before flying the OFT-2 mission. “
NASA is waiting to announce a new target launch date for the mission until Boeing has a better idea of the cause of the troubling indicator. However, Starliner will have to fit into a busy schedule for the International Space Station, which expects a busy few months.
Next week, Northrop Grumman will launch a freight shipment to the orbiting lab; later this month, SpaceX will follow with its own supply run. In September, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrovnik will begin a series of up to 11 spacewalks to complete the set-up of the Nauka module, and in October, Russia and SpaceX will launch crewed missions in the lab. in orbit.
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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