The Boeing Starliner crew capsule was supposed to get its second attempt at a test flight in July this year, an event that was set back by an issue with the International Space Station (ISS) being knocked around by a misfiring thruster.
Now it turns out that the unintended delay may have been a good thing, as the Starliner test has been set back further by issues with the oxidiser valves on the capsule’s propulsion system.
(Still) reaching for the Starliner
The issue turned up during prelaunch checks and Boeing has said that it’s now working with both NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne partners to determine the cause of the fault. Thirteen valves were experiencing an issue and, so far, nine have been corrected.
“Over the past couple of days, our team has taken the necessary time to safely access and test the affected valves, and not let the launch window dictate our pace,” said John Vollmer, program manager for the crew capsule project.
Boeing unfortunately hasn’t isolated the cause of the malfunction, but the nine valves that were corrected were subjected to “…the application of electrical and thermal techniques to prompt and command them open.” Which sounds an awful lot like fire and electroshock treatment to us, but it’s probably a little more complicated than that? Right?
Boeing’s crew capsule will still get a test launch to the ISS at some point this year. The company says that it is working with NASA and the United Launch Alliance to set a new date for liftoff.