NASA has already postponed the first manned flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, whose destination is the International Space Station ( ISS ). This delay was due to the detection of “unusual and anomalous behavior” in the liquid oxygen tank of the Centaur upper stage of the ULA Atlas V rocket.
The technical failures that delayed Boeing’s Starliner
The mission is scheduled for next May 17 . However, a NASA contractor has warned of potential serious problems with the Atlas V rocket. The president of aerospace company ValveTech, Erin Faville, has issued a statement, indicating their position as key NASA partners and valve experts, strongly recommend “not proceeding with the second launch attempt.”or” due to the potential risk of disaster on the launch pad.
[post_relacionado]Also other reports indicated that a technician who was near the Starliner heard a humming noise that suggested a leak in a valve shortly before launch, which could indicate that the valve has exceeded its useful life.
Later in the statement, Faville emphasized the need for NASA to step up safety controls and review safety protocols to ensure the Starliner is completely safe. In this way, any catastrophic event that puts the physical integrity of astronauts and other personnel at risk can be prevented.
One of the reasons for the delay of the first manned Starliner flight originated when NASA and Boeing decided to postpone the launch to two hours from its schedule at the Kennedy Space Center. The US space agency reported that United Launch Alliance decided to replace the pressure regulation valve because it “exceeded its rating.”
NASA supervision and certification
As planned, if the Starliner flight had taken place, it would have docked at the ISS, allowing the astronauts to remain in the orbital laboratory for about a week , before returning to the southwestern United States, where the ship would land using a parachute system. . However, NASA maintains its Starliner inspection and final certification processes for future space missions.
Finally, after the postponement, NASA has announced in the same statement that the manned flight of the Starliner is rescheduled for next Friday, May 17 at 0:16 Spanish peninsular time, bound for the International Space Station.
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Source and photo: Boeing