Nasa and Boeing have postponed the highly anticipated launch of the Starliner crew capsule for the fourth time, pushing back the liftoff by four days to address a persistent helium leak issue.
The launch, earlier postponed to May 21, is now targeted for no earlier than Saturday, May 25, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Starliner will lift off on its maiden human test flight at 12:39â€ïam on Saturday.
The delay will provide additional time for Boeing and Nasa teams to "finalize next steps that address a stable helium leak" detected in the Starliner spacecraft. This latest setback comes after multiple delays throughout May, including a technical glitch with the Atlas V rocket that prompted an earlier postponement.
The Starliner program, aimed at providing Nasa with a second U.S. spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), has faced significant challenges and is several years behind schedule, with costs exceeding $1.5 billion over budget.
The upcoming Crewed Flight Test mission, carrying Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, is crucial for Boeing as it represents the final test flight before the Starliner can be certified by Nasa for regular crew rotation missions to the ISS.
Boeing completed an uncrewed Starliner trip to the orbiting laboratory in 2022, following years of technical and management issues that delayed the program.
While SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, developed under the same Nasa commercial crew program, has been operational since 2020, Boeing's Starliner has yet to carry astronauts to space.
The successful execution of this crewed test flight is pivotal for Boeing to join SpaceX in providing Nasa with reliable access to the ISS for its astronauts.
