Boeing Starliner launch slips to at least June 1 for extended helium leak analysis
CBSN
The launch of Boeing's star-crossed Starliner spacecraft on its first piloted test flight is slipping to at least June 1 to give engineers more time to assess a small-but-persistent helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system, and its potential impact across all phases of flight, NASA announced Wednesday.
Already years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget, the Starliner's road to launch has been surprisingly rocky, with multiple problems leading up to its first Crew Flight Test, which is now slipping nearly a month beyond its May 6 target.
That launch attempt was called off because of unrelated trouble with a valve in the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that was quickly corrected. But the helium leak in the Starliner's service module, detected during the May 6 countdown, has proven to be more difficult to resolve to everyone's satisfaction.
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