Boeing, NASA, and United Launch Alliance have decided to delay yet again its first-ever crewed test flight of the Starliner originally scheduled for a May 25 launch after recent assessments.
The good thing is, there is already a new date recently updated by Boeing for the Starliner that will take place this June, and hopefully, one that would be checking all the boxes to no longer face delays.
Since last year, the Starliner has faced massive problems amidst its preparations for a supposed flight, lagging behind SpaceX's Falcon on NASA's Commercial Crew ventures.
Boeing's Starliner Crew Test Flight Delayed Yet Again
Several hours ago, NASA, Boeing, and ULA all decided that the Starliner would not fly this weekend, May 25, and this was a mutual decision among the three to delay the crewed test flight yet again.
The three agencies did not reveal specific issues, but they said that the team decided to forego this in their meetings and assessments of flight rationale, system performance, and redundancy.
Previously, the initial May 6 aborted launch was attributed to ULA's Atlas V rocket, which had an issue with its valve; this delay is now attributed to the Starliner.
It was reported that after fixing the valve issue, Boeing's Starliner saw a helium leak on the spacecraft, leading to this new cause of delay.
Starliner Reschedules First Crew Flight This June
The latest update from NASA revealed that the team has already decided on a launch date for the Starliner's crewed launch next Saturday, June 1, at 12:25 PM (ET).
Moreover, Boeing was given a wide launch window, with additional launch opportunities available on Sunday, June 2, Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6.
Boeing Starliner: Plagued With Safety Issues
Almost a decade ago, Boeing was selected to be one of the various companies participating in the Commercial Crew program, which aims to partner with space companies to bring astronauts to the ISS.
However, unlike its renowned rival, SpaceX, even during the pre-pandemic, the spacecraft's capabilities to dock the ISS have had problems.
Various issues came to light, including the faulty valves that would not open, among many others, prompting a delay to the mission that was initially set for its test in 2023.
It was a long rescheduling as the company initially set a date for March 2024, the expected time when the spacecraft would be ready for the crew flight test that would bring two astronauts to the space station.
March and April have passed by, and its supposed May launch did not take place at all, with the three agencies deciding to abort the May 7 launch and push to a later date this month.
However, before this May 25 launch date, the three companies decided to pull back again, claiming that the first crewed test flight would take place on the first June weekends, hopefully, the one that would push through.
