• Yet another delay will prevent Boeing from launching its Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS).
• A helium leak continues to perplex Boeing’s team and as such the 25th May launch date has been pushed back.
• When Boeing, NASA and United Launch Alliance plan to launch this mission next remains to be seen.

Boeing has been trying to launch its Crew Space Transport Starliner all month, but constant issues have plagued the launch.

After constant delays, NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance announced a new targeted launch date – 25th May. Except, according to Reuters, the launch has been delayed once again.

There appears to be a small helium leak in Starliner’s propulsion system which was discovered after the original launch on 7th May was delayed.

“The team has been in meetings for two consecutive days, assessing flight rationale, system performance, and redundancy,” NASA told Reuters. “There is still forward work in these areas, and the next possible launch opportunity is still being discussed.”

As this mission will carry astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS), this launch is being approached with an abundance of caution. NASA says Boeing’s teams are working to develop procedures to ensure that the system retains sufficient performance capability and appropriate redundancy during the flight.

There is a lot riding on this launch for Boeing as well. The company is in the final stages of achieving certification for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program where it will ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Right now SpaceX is transporting astronauts for NASA and while it has become quite adept at it, more competition is good news, at least for NASA.

Should this latest Starliner launch go ahead, Wilmore and Williams will spend a week at the International Space Station before returning to Earth. The capsule will make a landing in the southwestern United States using parachute and airbags to make the landing more comfortable.

Of course Starliner needs to get off of the ground first and we’ll have to wait for more information about when that might be.