The Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which was supposed to carry its first manned mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, has been postponed again, as announced by NASA. The space agency did not provide a new launch date and stated that discussions were ongoing regarding the next possible launch date.
Boeing has been working on the Starliner for a decade with the goal of providing an additional means of transporting astronauts to the ISS. While SpaceX has been successfully delivering astronauts to the space station since 2020, NASA believes having a second spaceship would provide additional support in case of emergencies on the station or issues with one of the space capsules.
The latest issue causing the postponement is a small helium leak discovered on the spacecraft, as announced by NASA last week. The leak was found during pre-launch testing and was determined to be too risky to proceed with the launch.
Despite this setback, NASA continues to work towards resolving the issue and getting Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft ready for its first manned mission. The anticipation for a successful launch remains high as many are eagerly waiting to see if this second spaceship will be able to provide additional support in case of emergencies on the ISS or issues with one of the other space capsules.
