Boeing returns its space capsule Starliner to factory, with several months to delay its flight

Boeing’s Starliner space capsule, which had to cancel its departure for the International Space Station last week, had to be canceled due to problems with the propulsion system and the company said it would have to return to the factory for repairs. Friday August 13.

This new setback postpones this important test flight to Boeing and NASA for at least several months. The capsule must be removed from the top of the Atlas V rocket and returned to a factory in Florida’s Kennedy Center for inspection, Boeing said. In a press release.

This is probably “Too soon to say” John Wolmer, vice president and director of Boeing’s commercial flight program, told a news conference that the drone would take place this year. Four valves of the propulsion system “Stay Closed” Despite the efforts of technicians to resolve the issue, Boeing added in its report.

SpaceX confirms its presence

It’s a big failure for the team to continue the setbacks with Starliner. The capsule must be one of two with SpaceX to allow NASA to redirect its astronauts back from US soil to the International Space Station (ISS). Since the launch of the spacecraft in 2011, the space agency has relied heavily on Russian rockets.

If SpaceX had now sent less than ten astronauts to the ISS, including the Frenchman Thomas Pesket, Boeing would still have to pass its first unmanned test aircraft, which would have to prove that the capsule was safe. This test flight was first attempted in 2019, but then approached disaster due to a software problem. Starliner must have returned to Earth early, and then experienced a serious air disorder when the capsule entered the atmosphere during an investigation.