Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner—a semireusable spacecraft under a multibillion-dollar contract with NASA for Commercial Crew rotation missions to the ISS—underwent a hot fire test on Saturday intended to evaluate the capsule’s reaction control system (RCS) thrusters. The vessel is in the midst of its crewed flight test (CFT), which is intended to be its final mission before NASA certifies it for service.

On its way to the orbital laboratory, five of Starliner’s RCS thrusters failed to perform as expected, which, coupled with a series of helium leaks, has led NASA and Boeing to keep the spacecraft at the ISS for further testing both on the ground and in orbit. The issues are traced to the spacecraft’s service module, which, unlike the semireusable crew module, will be jettisoned and lost at the end of the mission.

Starliner had already undergone one on-orbit hot fire test in June. According to Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, all thrusters, except for one which has been shut down, performed at 80 to 100 percent during that test. Stich in July said the space agency continues to hold that assessment.

However, it appears the test was not satisfactory for NASA and Boeing, which last month began hot fire ground testing at White Sands Test Facility Test Facility in New Mexico. The campaign is using an identical thruster to recreate the cadence of Starliner’s thrusters during its docking with the ISS, which engineers believe is the maneuver that caused the issue.

As part of those evaluations, officials suggested there could be a second hot fire test of Starliner on orbit, which came to fruition Saturday. With Wilmore and Williams inside the spacecraft, teams fired 27 of the service module’s 28 RCS thrusters one at a time.

The test showed that all thrusters are back to preflight levels, firing at 97 to 102 percent of peak thrust according to Boeing. In addition, engineers confirmed that helium leak rates remain stable and that the spacecraft has more than enough fuel for its return trip.

Boeing predicted that a flight test readiness review will take place by the end of this week, following which teams will select a return date. Wilmore and Williams will also participate in two undocking simulations during the week in preparation for their homecoming.

The astronauts in July gave their first Earth-to-orbit update since arriving at the ISS, saying they are in good spirits and have been in contact with their families.

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The approval will allow SpaceX to stay on schedule with its Crew-9 mission to rotate astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS), which NASA officials on Friday said is planned for no earlier than August 18.

Falcon 9 was grounded by the FAA following a rare mishap during a July 11 launch of Starlink satellites, its first failure after a streak of more than 300 successful missions.

SpaceX on Thursday shed more light on the incident. The company traced the anomaly to a cracked sense line that created a liquid oxygen leak within the rocket’s second stage engine. This caused ignition fluid to freeze, preventing the engine from performing a burn that would have placed the satellites in a circular orbit.

Despite the issue, SpaceX said, the engine continued operating as intended through both of its planned burns, but all 20 satellites were lost.

The FAA swiftly grounded Falcon 9 as is standard whenever a launch does not go according to plan. SpaceX submitted a mishap report on the night of the anomaly.

Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, said Friday that “SpaceX went above and beyond” in its assessment of the issue, working with NASA to develop a fault tree, review spacecraft telemetry, analyze video, and search for similar issues on other Falcon models.

The company has opted to remove the faulty sense line, which is redundant and not a part of the spacecraft’s safety system, for near-term Falcon 9 launches. It also agreed upon several corrective actions with the FAA that will be detailed in the coming days.

The FAA must still give a final sign-off for Crew-9 to launch, but the blessing to return to flight should allow SpaceX to meet its mission timeline. Stich on Friday said Crew-9 will launch no earlier than August 18 from Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the launch window extending into September.

The mission represents the fourth flight of this particular Falcon. It will launch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon on its 45th mission to the ISS. Once onboard, four crewmembers will spend six months conducting a range of experiments, including studying the physics of neutron stars and the behavior of wildfires on Earth.

The ISS’ two docking ports are occupied by SpaceX’s Crew-8 Dragon capsule and Boeing’s Starliner, the latter of which will need to make way for Crew-9. Complicating matters, however, is the unexpected extension of Starliner’s inaugural crew flight test (CFT), which has left astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the orbital laboratory for nearly two months.

Sources told Ars Technica’s Eric Berger that NASA is considering sending Crew-9 to the ISS with only two astronauts, theoretically making room for Wilmore and Williams to hitch a ride home on SpaceX’s Dragon rather than Starliner.

The scenario is one NASA hopes to avoid. Officials stopped short of calling it a requirement for certification but said that returning the astronauts home on Starliner rather than Dragon is “important” to the program’s goals. According to Stich, teams have finished an approximately monthlong test of Starliner’s thrusters and are working toward a flight readiness review, expected toward the end of next week.

However, Stich also said that NASA has officially handed over the Starliner’s first mission—which was double booked for early next year—to SpaceX. The flight, Starliner-1, will be pushed to no earlier than August 2025, while Falcon 9 and Dragon handle the agency’s tenth commercial crew rotation in February. Starliner-1 will again be double booked with SpaceX Crew-11.

Though SpaceX’s Falcon woes haven’t derailed Crew-9, they may shake up NASA’s busy ISS manifest. The agency is working toward an August 3 launch of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus, followed by an August 13 Roscosmos launch. Crew-9 would be next, followed by SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, originally scheduled for this month.

Beyond that, NASA wants to make a Soyuz ISS crew exchange in September, launch the Europa Clipper probe in October, and facilitate the Axiom-4 private astronaut mission in November.

Given the rapid turnaround following Falcon 9’s rare mishap, Boeing’s Starliner may be a larger culprit than SpaceX in any future delays.

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For the public, those were the first words heard from NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—the crew of the space agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT)—since they arrived at the orbital laboratory more than one month ago for an intended eight-day stay.

The Earth-to-orbit call between crew and NASA command was live streamed on the agency’s website. The event answered appeals from members of the media, made during a previous press conference, to see the astronauts on camera as concerns with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner—which brought them to the ISS—continue to linger.

The spacecraft is contending with two key problems: helium leaks and deactivated or underperforming thrusters. The issues are concentrated within the spacecraft’s service module, which aids in maneuvers such as docking and undocking with the ISS.

NASA and Boeing have indicated that Starliner has more than enough helium to make it home but are continuing to assess the root cause of the leaks. During a hot fire test after docking, four out of the five affected thrusters performed as expected. The fifth was deactivated for the remainder of the mission.

Williams and Wilmore recounted their trip to the space station and the moment they realized that Starliner’s thrusters were not firing at full power. They also sang the spacecraft’s praises, with Wilmore even saying he was tempted to award his first perfect rating for its handling performance.

Separately, NASA and Boeing representatives held a press conference to provide the latest on ongoing ground thruster testing at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Officials again did not provide a firm return date for Wilmore and Williams. But Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, estimated that testing could wrap up by the end of the month, after which point teams will iron out a timeline.

Engineers hope to conduct as many evaluations as possible while the semireusable spacecraft, designed to survive 10 missions, is in orbit. Starliner’s service module, the expendable component of the spacecraft, will be jettisoned and lost as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere.

Astronauts Phone Home

Williams and Wilmore on Wednesday made their long-awaited first appearance on camera since arriving at the ISS on June 6, recounting the CFT’s progress so far.

“Launch was spectacular,” Wilmore said, adding that the spacecraft performed “unbelievably well” during operational capability checks.

However, on the second day of their journey to the ISS, the astronauts could tell something was amiss. As Starliner approached the orbital lab, a total of five reaction control system (RCS) thrusters on its service module either turned off or did not fire at intended strength. Williams and Wilmore commandeered the capsule manually for about one hour as teams on the ground assessed the issue.

“From that point on, you could tell that the thrust was degraded,” Wilmore said. “But it was still impressive.”

Even with less-than-optimal performance, the thrusters completed what Wilmore described as a perfect maneuver as they navigated the final 10 meters to dock Starliner with the space station.

According to Williams, the astronauts talk with mission crews once per week to share and analyze the data they’ve collected. She highlighted the capsule’s ability to serve as a “safe haven” in the event of an ISS evacuation—a role it fulfilled last month after a Russian satellite broke up in orbit.

“We are having a great time here on the ISS,” said Williams. “I’m not complaining, Butch isn’t complaining, that we’re here for a couple extra weeks.”

One question NASA and Boeing have received is whether Starliner could bring Williams and Wilmore home right now. Officials insist it could, but only in an emergency situation that would require the ISS to be evacuated. The astronauts were asked about their confidence level in that scenario.

“I feel confident that, if we had to—if there was a problem with the International Space Station—we could get in the spacecraft and undock, talk with our team, and figure out the best way to come home,” said Williams.

She later added, “I have a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home no problem.”

Wilmore said he and his crewmate “trust the tests we are doing are the right ones we need to do to get us the right answers, to give us the data we need to come back,” adding that they are “absolutely ready” for a return based on current engineering data.

NASA could send a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule—which has completed all eight ISS Commercial Crew rotation missions to date—to retrieve the astronauts should Starliner’s issues persist. On Wednesday, Stich said the space agency has not yet opened those discussions with SpaceX, though he did not rule out the possibility.

The astronauts also described their view of Hurricane Beryl from space, saying that their families—who live in Texas and were in the storm’s path—are doing well. Wilmore said he is “90 percent sure” he could see the storm forming off the West coast of Africa days before it was named.

The 20-minute call concluded with some zero-gravity backflips by Williams and a big, smiling thumbs-up from Wilmore.

NASA, Boeing Share More Info

Stich and Mark Nappi, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew program, addressed the media following the astronauts’ remarks.

According to Stich, Starliner will need to undock before mid-August, when SpaceX’s Crew-8 team swaps with the incoming Crew-9. Williams and Wilmore will need to return a few days before the Crew-9 launch window opens. Starliner remains a “go” for return in an emergency scenario, officials said. But they prefer to wait until ground testing is complete before attempting a by-the-books return,

Stich estimated that hot fire testing at White Sands could “optimistically” wrap up by the end of July, though it could be extended. Teams are working toward a nominal return flight readiness review, standard for crew rotation missions, that would give the green light to finish the mission as planned. 

Should more time be needed, NASA is in the process of approving a 45-day extension of the CFT, which is contingent on the health of Starliner’s batteries. According to Stich, those systems have shown no sign of wear and tear.

The goal of the test campaign is to recreate the firing pattern of one of Starliner’s faulty thrusters using an identical thruster—designed for a future mission—on the ground. Hot fire testing began on July 3, but Stich said crews have so far been unable to achieve the temperatures experienced by the thruster in orbit. Engineers believe the unusual firing pattern could be due to excess heat.

Teams will then attempt to predict how the thrusters might behave as Starliner undocks and flies home. Based on their learnings, they could modify the spacecraft’s flight path, deactivate certain thrusters, or fire them at different rates. Williams and Wilmore are capable of piloting Starliner manually if issues arise.

At the same time, Stich said White Sands personnel are evaluating the service module for Starliner’s inaugural crew rotation mission, Starliner-1, scheduled for February. The current service module has contended with a series of helium leaks, for which crews are attempting to uncover the root cause. Starliner-1’s service module won’t be redesigned, but Nappi said future models could incorporate changes based on the testing at White Sands.

The Outlook

Extended ISS stays are not necessarily uncommon, and the space station is designed to accommodate crew for months at a time if needed.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, for example, set a U.S. spaceflight record when his planned six-month mission was nearly doubled to 371 consecutive days aboard the orbital laboratory. Unlike Starliner, the Russian Soyuz capsule that ferried Rubio to the ISS was quickly ruled out as an emergency return vehicle, lending credence to the idea that Boeing’s issues are less severe.

However, NASA and Boeing face the added pressure of certification after close to a decade of delays to the Starliner program. In a prior press conference, Stich acknowledged that NASA and Boeing “understand it’s going to take a little bit longer” to certify Starliner than originally planned.

On Wednesday, the Commercial Crew manager said teams will decide between Starliner-1 or SpaceX Dragon’s Crew-10—which are booked for the same February launch window—once the CFT ends and postflight analysis is complete. The longer that takes, he said, the more likely it is that SpaceX will take over the mission.

Nappi agreed with that assessment, citing the need to understand and fix Starliner’s helium leaks as the biggest obstacle to certification.

NASA and Boeing said Wilmore and Williams will make one more Earth-to-orbit call before they depart the ISS, with more details to come.

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During a media briefing on Friday, NASA and Boeing representatives said the astronauts’ return to Earth will come after ground testing at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete. Teams are working to re-create some of the issues experienced by the reusable spacecraft during its inaugural crewed flight to the orbital laboratory.

According to Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, Starliner was originally deemed safe for a stay as long as 45 days on the ISS. Crews are in the process of extending its battery life, which Stich said will keep the risk level manageable for another 45 days, at least.

However, he conceded that NASA and Boeing “understand it’s going to take a little bit longer” to certify Starliner than previously planned. The spacecraft is scheduled to fly its first service mission, Starliner-1, early next year. Officials said SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has completed all eight commercial crew rotation missions to the ISS to date, could take that slot.

“We’re not in any rush to come home,” Stich said Friday. “The risk for the next 45 days is essentially the same as for the first 45 days.”

Added Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate: “We have the luxury of time.”

Stich, Bowersox, and Mark Nappi, the manager of Boeing’s commercial crew program,  reiterated that “engineering data suggests” Starliner is safe to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth in the event of an emergency.

Officials also reported that the spacecraft is in “good shape” despite two lingering issues—a set of helium leaks and faulty thrusters.

A total of five helium leaks have sprung up on Starliner’s service module, which makes tiny maneuvers to the spacecraft to assist in docking and keep it in orbit. After testing the helium manifolds earlier this month, NASA found that leak rates had declined. Stich on Friday said those rates have not changed.

The other issue involves the service module’s thrusters, some of which did not fire at full strength en route to the ISS. These were also assessed earlier this month, and Stich said performance on all thrusters is between 80 and 100 percent.

It appears the thrusters are the main factor necessitating a longer mission for Starliner. As soon as Tuesday, engineers will begin testing an identical component at White Sands to re-create the firing pattern of one of the in-orbit thrusters. Officials said the campaign is expected to last several weeks and could be extended.

According to Nappi, teams want to keep Starliner in space for the evaluations because they could inform additional in-orbit tests or a modification of the spacecraft’s undocking procedure. He said crews do not yet understand the issue well enough to fix them permanently and that it would be “irresponsible” not to use additional time to conduct testing. Starliner’s crew module is reusable for up to 10 missions, but the service module will be jettisoned during the CFT.

Nappi said he has been in contact with Wilmore and Williams and that they remain in good spirits, describing Starliner as “pristine and precise.” The astronauts are able to communicate with their families daily and according to officials are not “stranded.”

On Wednesday, Starliner got another real-life test when an in-orbit satellite breakup created a debris field that hurtled toward the ISS. Wilmore and Williams tested the spacecraft’s ability to act as a “safe haven” in the case of a contingency on the space station, getting inside, powering it up, and sealing the hatch. They remained inside for an hour and according to officials were prepared to initiate an undocking if necessary.

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Wilmore and Williams began their sojourn to the ISS on June 5 with plans for an eight-day stay but will now spend a minimum of three weeks aboard the orbital laboratory.

Partners NASA and Boeing—under contract for six Starliner Commercial Crew missions following the completion of the CFT and the vehicle’s certification—had previously targeted a return date of Saturday, doubling the length of the astronauts’ mission. On Tuesday, however, they decided to further delay a return to allow teams to collect data from Starliner’s service module.

The service module, which makes small maneuvers to align the capsule such as when orbiting or docking, is an expendable component that is jettisoned before the spacecraft reenters the atmosphere. NASA and Boeing hope to study it further in order to assess issues that have arisen during the mission. Their findings will inform any modifications required before the capsule can be certified to enter NASA’s rotation.

NASA Commercial Crew program manager Steve Stich, ISS program manager Dana Wiegel, Johnson Space Center flight director Mike Lammers, and Boeing Commercial Crew program manager and vice president Mark Nappi addressed those problems Tuesday.

Starliner is contending with three main issues. The most significant is a series of helium leaks traced to the seals between the service module’s thrusters and manifold, of which crews have identified five. The first leak was discovered during prelaunch preparations, two were uncovered on the way to the ISS, and two more were identified after docking.

Another complication, which teams on Tuesday theorized may be connected to the helium leaks, involves the service module’s aft reaction control system (RCS) thrusters. Five of these engines failed to fire during the final phase of the spacecraft’s rendezvous with the ISS. Each phase of the remainder of the CFT requires a different number and arrangement of RCS thrusters.

The last problem stems from a faulty oxidizer isolation valve, which has been closed for the remainder of the mission. All other valves are functioning normally, NASA said.

According to Wiegel, the ISS can hold Wilmore and Williams indefinitely as NASA and Boeing prepare Starliner for undocking. Nappi said 77 of 87 CFT flight test objectives have already been completed, with the remaining few taking place during the trip back to Earth. He described the astronauts’ extended stay as an “opportunity” and a “privilege” to study Starliner further on orbit, which is considered an ideal test environment.

Over the past week and a half, Starliner teams have been busy gathering flight data on thruster firing, docking, and other maneuvers, as well as performing testing and analysis on the ground.

During a hot fire test over the weekend, one of the five RCS thrusters displayed what Stich described as “a strange signature where we’re getting almost no thrust out of that [engine].” Crews have opted to power down the thruster for the remainder of the mission. Three other thrusters functioned as expected.

On Starliner’s first visit to the ISS in 2022, a similar issue occurred where two RCS thrusters failed. Stich theorized that heat may be causing propellant in the engines’ chambers to vaporize.

The hot fire test also reflected a promising outlook for the helium manifold problem: “I would say every single manifold that we looked at [following testing], we saw the leak rates going down,” said Stich.

Starliner requires about seven hours’ worth of helium to undock from the ISS, perform a deorbit burn, and touch down on Earth, representing the final steps of the CFT. On Tuesday, teams estimated that the spacecraft will have at least 70 hours of margin.

According to Stich, three helium leaks, described as larger than the rest, tend to reach their highest rate when the service module’s RCS thrusters are firing, leading he and NASA to believe there may be a link between the two problems. As noted earlier, two leaks were identified after Starliner docked to the ISS, which Stich said placed an unexpected amount of demand on the thrusters.

Stich added that the two leaks discovered en route to the orbital laboratory stabilized while Wilmore and Williams took their designated sleep, suggesting there could be some correlation between thruster activity and leak rate. He theorized that the seals on the service module’s helium manifolds could be getting worn down due to extreme heat, for example.

NASA and Boeing representatives said Wilmore and Williams remain in good spirits aboard the ISS. The astronauts are using their extended stay to perform additional tests and equipment checkouts, including a demonstration of Starliner’s use as a safe haven in the case of a contingency aboard the space station. Stich likened the scenario to seeking refuge in a storm cellar during a tornado.

Crews throughout the week will continue to conduct evaluations of Starliner on orbit and on the ground, including simulations of the mission’s final phase. If all goes according to plan, Starliner, carrying Wilmore and Williams, will undock from the ISS on June 25 and land at White Sands Space Harbor the following morning at 4:51 a.m. EDT. Additional landing opportunities are available every four days, with the next being June 30.

The CFT is intended to be Starliner’s final test flight before the vehicle is certified by NASA for service missions. On Tuesday, representatives did not dismiss the possibility of a delay in certification to address the spacecraft’s frequent issues. The vehicle’s first operational mission, Starliner-1, is scheduled for 2025.

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On Wednesday morning, the autonomous, semireusable space capsule—intended for 10 service missions to the International Space Station (ISS) under a multibillion contract between the aerospace manufacturer and NASA—finally lifted off with humans for the first time.

The long-delayed mission, called the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT), will take NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the orbital laboratory, where they will conduct an array of tests and evaluations of the spacecraft, its systems, and equipment.

The CFT is expected to be Starliner’s final flight test, demonstrating its capabilities with astronauts on board before NASA moves to certify it for Commercial Crew rotation missions to the ISS. The first of these, Starliner-1, could take place as early as next year.

An initial CFT launch attempt on May 6 was scrubbed, and the mission was postponed several times before finally taking flight. But Wilmore and Williams are now well on their way to the space station, where they are expected to dock Thursday at 12:15 p.m. EDT.

We Have Liftoff

Starliner lifted off from the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday at 10:52 a.m. EDT as teams had planned.

Carrying the capsule into orbit was United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket, which is making its 100th flight. Atlas V, when stacked together with Starliner, stands over 170 feet tall and generated some 1.6 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

The liftoff represented the first time humans have hitched a ride on either Starliner or Atlas V. Williams became the first woman to fly on the maiden voyage of a crewed spacecraft.

After achieving Max Q—the moment the rocket faces the greatest amount of pressure as it climbs through the atmosphere—Starliner successfully separated from Atlas V at suborbit, just under 15 minutes into the mission. From this point on, the astronauts will be on their own.

About half an hour into the mission, Starliner executed a successful insertion burn to place it in stable orbit, from which the capsule will embark on an approximately 24-hour journey to the ISS. The spacecraft will dock with the orbital laboratory’s Harmony module Thursday afternoon, and Williams and Wilmore will disembark to join the crew of NASA’s Expedition 71 for a weeklong stay.

Setting the Stage

Throughout the CFT, the astronauts will work to prepare Starliner for certification.

The performance of equipment such as suits and seats was assessed during prelaunch and ascent. As Starliner rendezvous with the space station, the crew will conduct further testing of life support equipment, manual and automated navigation systems, and thruster performance in the scenario of a manual abort. While capable of flying on its own, the capsule can be commanded manually, and crews have failsafes at their disposal at different points in the flight path.

After assessing Starliner’s autonomous docking capabilities and the opening and closing of its hatch, the astronauts will configure the spacecraft for its stay and move emergency equipment into the ISS. Once they are settled, teams will perform checks of displays, cargo systems, and the vehicle itself.

Williams and Wilmore will also try to prove that the capsule could serve as a “safe haven” in the event of depressurization, fire, or collision with debris impacting the orbital laboratory.

On their return trip, the astronauts will briefly test out Starliner’s manual piloting capabilities. As it approaches Earth’s atmosphere, the capsule will slow from its orbital velocity of 17,500 mph and touch down in one of four locations in the Western U.S., using a combination of parachutes and airbags.

A Calculated Risk

If all goes according to plan, Starliner could launch on its first Commercial Crew rotation mission for NASA in the first half of next year. However, the space agency, Boeing, and ULA are taking a calculated risk with the mission.

A helium leak traced to one of the 28 reaction control system thrusters on Starliner’s service module—which helps maneuver the capsule while in orbit—is responsible for a few of the spacecraft’s recent setbacks. NASA describes the leak as small and stable.

But in a scenario Steve Stich, who manages the Commercial Crew program, described as “a pretty diabolical case, where you would lose two helium manifolds in two separate [thrusters]” that are next to one another, Starliner could be unable to perform a deorbit burn. That’s the maneuver that allows it to slow down from orbital speeds as it reenters the atmosphere.

NASA estimated the likelihood of this occurring at 0.77 percent. As a contingency, it and Boeing developed a modified deorbit burn procedure which they say has been tested in a simulator by Williams and Wilmore.

What It Means

There’s a lot riding on the Starliner CFT’s success.

For Boeing, which rakes in billions every quarter, the more important impact may be reputational rather than financial. The company has come under fire in recent months for its internal safety processes, and successfully flying two humans to the ISS and back could help ease the pressure.

For NASA, Starliner may be instrumental in achieving the agency’s goals.

To date, all eight Commercial Crew rotation missions have been flown by SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which like Starliner is a reusable capsule for up to seven passengers. SpaceX signed its own multibillion-dollar contract with the space agency at the same time as Boeing and has since extended it multiple times, without failing to complete a mission.

But NASA wants an alternative to Dragon in the case of a contingency, such as the one that stranded astronaut Frank Rubio on the ISS for nearly a year—and helped him set a U.S. spaceflight record in the process. The space agency made sure to commemorate Rubio’s achievement, but it wants to avoid a similar situation recurring. By keeping two reusable spacecraft in its fleet, it could have one ready to retrieve a crew in case the other fails.

Should Starliner enter NASA’s Commercial Crew rotation, it will alternate six-month missions to the ISS with Dragon.

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The mission, which has faced a series of setbacks since an initial launch attempt was scrubbed on May 6, is now targeted for 10:52 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, with a backup launch window available Thursday.

The Starliner CFT is intended to be the spacecraft’s final test flight before NASA moves to certify it for service missions to the ISS, the first of which could take place next year. To date, all eight Commercial Crew rotation missions to the orbital laboratory have been flown by SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. 

The company signed its own multibillion-dollar contract with the space agency at the same time as Boeing but has already cemented itself as an invaluable partner. The same cannot be said for the aerospace giant, which has flown Starliner to the ISS just once.

CFT launch attempts have been delayed or scrubbed due to a litany of issues. First, it was a faulty pressure regulation valve on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle, which will carry Starliner into orbit. Then, crews discovered a small helium leak on Starliner itself, involving one of the 28 reaction control system thrusters on its service module. These small engines use helium to make minor maneuvers and keep Starliner in orbit.

NASA and Boeing have since described the leak as stable but have opted not to repair it, which would require Starliner to be unstacked from Atlas V and could take months. However, in investigating the root cause of the leak, crews discovered what the space agency described as a “design vulnerability” in the capsule’s propulsion system.

In a scenario NASA estimates has a likelihood of about 0.77 percent, the original leak could combine with an adjacent leak to prevent Starliner from performing a deorbit burn. That’s the maneuver that returns a spacecraft to Earth’s atmosphere following its mission.

All of this work identifying and assessing risk pushed the CFT back to Saturday. But yet another problem forced a cancellation of the launch just a few minutes before takeoff—and made a second go-around on Sunday infeasible.

According to the Starliner team, the issue is again on ULA’s side of things.

During the countdown, ground support equipment on the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida experienced issues, which crews traced to a power supply unit on one of three chassis on Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage. The power supply unit indirectly powers Centaur’s topping valves during the launch sequence, and all three chassis must be running in order for the countdown to be completed.

According to Tory Bruno, CEO of ULA, the chassis with the faulty power unit was quickly replaced. The new equipment has been retested and was functioning normally as of Sunday. NASA and Boeing added that they did not observe any physical damage to Starliner or Atlas V, and crews will perform a “full failure analysis” to determine what went wrong.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Starliner’s first human passengers, remain in quarantine at Kennedy Space Center. If all goes according to plan, Wilmore and Williams will dock with the ISS later this week. There, they will spend about one week performing tests of Starliner’s systems as NASA prepares for the program’s next step: certification.

After that, Starliner would begin alternating six-month Commercial Crew rotation missions with SpaceX’s Dragon.

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NASA and Boeing on Wednesday announced that the Starliner Crewed Flight Test (CFT), intended to be the spacecraft’s final dress rehearsal before the agency certifies it for service missions, is a “go” to proceed for 12:25 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 1.

However, Starliner engineers during a press conference last week said that a design flaw with the spacecraft’s propulsion system gives the capsule a 0.77 percent chance of being unable to perform a deorbit burn after it returns from the ISS. A deorbit burn, in which the vehicle reverses direction and fires its orbital maneuvering engines to slow itself, is used to maneuver a spacecraft back into Earth’s atmosphere.

NASA, Boeing, and launch provider United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are taking a calculated risk with the launch attempt following years of delays to the Starliner program. The setbacks have resulted from a combination of issues involving the spacecraft’s software, propulsion system, and parachutes.

Boeing and rival SpaceX each have multibillion-dollar contracts with the space agency to provide crew rotation services. But all eight missions to the ISS to date have been flown using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which like Starliner is a reusable capsule designed to accommodate up to seven passengers.

Starliner in 2019 and 2022 attempted two uncrewed test flights to the ISS, the first aborted and the second successful.

The capsule’s first crewed mission has been delayed a number of times since an initial launch attempt scheduled for May 6 was scrubbed due to an issue with ULA’s Atlas V launch vehicle. Following that setback, engineers discovered a small helium leak on the Starliner capsule itself, tracing it to one of 28 reaction control system thrusters on the spacecraft’s service module.

“This is a high-pressure system, and helium is a very small, tiny molecule, and it tends to leak,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, last week. “This particular leak, I don’t think it implicates the design of the seal or the flange. It’s just maybe a defective part.”

Rather than replace the faulty valve, which would involve removing Starliner from the Atlas V rocket and could take several months, crews decided to try and better understand the flaw.

According to Stich, Starliner could actually weather a complete rupture in the valve’s seal, even if additional helium leaks spring up elsewhere.

“We could handle this particular leak if that leak rate were to grow even up to 100 times,” he said.

The leak is now described as stable, and Stich noted that SpaceX’s Dragon has also encountered leaks, which did not impact operations. But in the course of investigating the issue, teams uncovered yet another problem.

“We found a design vulnerability…in the [propulsion] system as we analyzed this particular helium leak, where for certain failure cases that are very remote, we didn’t have the capability to execute the deorbit burn with redundancy,” said Stich.

In what Stich described as “a pretty diabolical case where you would lose two helium manifolds in two separate doghouses, and then they have to be next to each other”—referring to the aforementioned 0.77 percent figure—Starliner could be unable to perform a deorbit burn. Engineers said they have come up with a contingency plan that has already been tested by NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in a Starliner simulator.

“We have multiple redundancies in our system,” Mark Nappi, vice president of Boeing and program manager for Starliner, said last week. “We have a case here that’s extremely remote that we missed. And if there are more out there, they’re going to be in that same category of extremely remote.”

Though the issue hasn’t entirely gone away, Starliner teams appear committed to a launch on Saturday.

NASA, Boeing, and ULA on Wednesday completed a Delta-Agency Flight Test Readiness Review, determining that all Starliner systems, facilities, and teams are ready for launch. On Thursday, crews rolled Atlas V and Starliner back to the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, further signaling their intent to move forward with the attempt.

NASA will provide live coverage of the mission on its website, app, and YouTube channel. If all goes according to plan, Starliner, carrying Wilmore and Williams, will dock to the ISS’s Harmony module Sunday afternoon. The astronauts would then spend about one week on the orbital laboratory, where they will test the capsule’s systems in order to advance the certification process.

NASA hopes to get Starliner into its Commercial Crew rotation with the Starliner-1 service mission, scheduled for no earlier than 2025. After that, it would alternate six-month missions to the ISS with SpaceX’s Dragon.

U.S. Space Force meteorologists on Friday said there is a 90 percent chance that weather conditions will meet the criteria for a safe launch. Should the attempt be scrubbed again, backup launch windows are scheduled for Sunday, June 2, Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6.

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After postponing the previously announced May 25 launch attempt of the Starliner CFT on Tuesday, NASA on Wednesday said that it, Boeing, and launch provider United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are targeting no earlier than Saturday, June 1, at 12:25 p.m. EDT for the next attempt. Additional launch windows include Sunday, June 2, Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6.

The postponement is the latest in a string of delays that have impacted the mission—and plagued the Starliner program more broadly—for years. An initial launch attempt was scrubbed hours before takeoff on May 6.

The setback follows the discovery of what NASA and Boeing described as a small helium leak on Starliner’s service module, which is designed to power and maneuver the autonomous spacecraft on its journey to the ISS.

According to NASA, Starliner teams have been meeting extensively to identify a new launch date, but further work remains. The agency said the current leak remains stable but that crews are now conducting follow-on performance and propulsion system assessments “to understand potential helium system impacts on some Starliner return scenarios.”

NASA will also perform a Flight Test Readiness Review to recap the work that has been done since May 6 and explain the rationale for attempting the next launch. A date for that review has not been identified but will be announced once selected, it said.

“It has been important that we take our time to understand all the complexities of each issue, including the redundant capabilities of the Starliner propulsion system and any implications to our Interim Human Rating Certification,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program. “We will launch [astronauts] Butch [Wilmore] and Suni [Williams] on this test mission after the entire community has reviewed the teams’ progress and flight rationale at the upcoming Delta Agency Flight Test Readiness Review.”

NASA views Starliner as an alternative to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon for missions to low-Earth orbit. Dragon has flown each of the space agency’s eight Commercial Crew rotation missions, ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS, and will facilitate the upcoming Crew-9 mission scheduled for August.

But NASA wants to keep two reusable spacecraft in its fleet in case of a contingency, such as the incident that stranded astronaut Frank Rubio on the orbital laboratory for six months.

Boeing and SpaceX in 2014 each signed multibillion-dollar contracts with the agency to secure test flights and several Commercial Crew missions for their respective vessels. SpaceX has since expanded its arrangement multiple times, while Starliner—which is under contract for six flights—has languished in the development phase.

The Starliner CFT is intended to be the spacecraft’s final test flight before NASA certifies it for Commercial Crew rotation flights. If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft’s first commercial mission to the ISS, Starliner-1, could take place next year. But the delays continue to pile up.

The mission was initially scrubbed due to an oscillating pressure regulation valve on ULA’s Atlas V rocket, which will send Starliner into orbit. The partners set a new target launch date of May 10, later revising it to May 17 to give crews additional time to resolve the issue.

Then, last week, teams discovered a new problem—this time involving a helium leak on one of the Starliner capsule’s 28 reaction control system thrusters. Helium allows the thrusters to fire and make minor maneuvers in orbit. As a result, the launch was pushed to no earlier than Tuesday, a timeline that was then revised yet again to Saturday.

With Wednesday’s announcement, the partners are now nearly one month behind schedule, placing the Starliner team in a bind. On one hand, the safety of the astronauts must be prioritized. But on the other, there is some pressure to launch sooner rather than later.

As Ars Technica’s Stephen Clark notes, the ISS docking schedule gets a bit crowded after July, so there is some pressure for Starliner teams to launch sooner rather than later. In addition, Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida—from where Starliner will launch—is used by ULA for other Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur launches.

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ValveTech, a manufacturer previously hired by Boeing supplier Aerojet Rocketdyne to build valves for Starliner’s propulsion system, is warning NASA to “immediately halt” the spacecraft’s first crewed launch, which may come as early as Friday.

The company—which sued Aerojet in 2017 alleging a violation of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and misuse of trade secrets—urged the space agency to “redouble safety checks and re-examine safety protocols” before the mission, which was scrubbed on May 6 due to a valve issue.

The faulty valve was located on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket, which will launch Starliner into orbit. Tory Bruno, president and CEO of ULA, addressed ValveTech president Erin Faville’s comments directly in a post on social media platform X.

“Not sure what to say about this one,” Bruno wrote. “Close to none of it is correct: Not urgent. Not leaking. Etc. Remarkable that the particular person quoted doesn’t seem to know how this type of valve works…”

ValveTech says it supplies 14 valve components to Starliner vendors, but ULA tells FLYING it is not one of them. ValveTech did not immediately respond to FLYING’s request for comment.

Starliner has been described by NASA as a redundant alternative to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, which so far has flown eight Commercial Crew astronaut rotation missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Starliner, similarly, was designed as a reusable spacecraft to ferry astronauts to low-Earth orbit destinations.

The Starliner CFT, which had already been delayed several times, was scrubbed earlier this month due to an oscillating pressure regulation valve on the Atlas V rocket, forcing NASA to push back the launch to no earlier than Friday at 6:16 p.m. EDT.

Although NASA and ULA have already investigated and decided to remove and replace the valve, Faville warned against catastrophe should they attempt another launch.

“As a valued NASA partner and as valve experts, we strongly urge them not to attempt a second launch due to the risk of a disaster occurring on the launchpad,” said Faville. “According to media reports, a buzzing sound indicating the leaking valve was noticed by someone walking by the Starliner minutes before launch. This sound could indicate that the valve has passed its life cycle.”

NASA and ULA made no mention of a leaking valve in their assessments of the incident, saying only that the valve was oscillating abnormally.

“After evaluating the valve history, data signatures from the launch attempt, and assessing the risks relative to continued use, the ULA team determined the valve exceeded its qualification and mission managers agreed to remove and replace the valve,” NASA wrote in a blog post.

Faville later clarified that she is not calling for a permanent end to the Starliner program but rather a more thorough assessment of safety concerns.

“What I said was that NASA needs to redouble safety checks and re-examine safety protocols to make sure the Starliner is safe before trying to launch the Starliner again,” said Faville. “As a valued NASA partner, it would make no sense and not be in my company’s interest to end this mission.”

Since parting ways in 2017, ValveTech and Aerojet, a division of defense contractor L3Harris, have been tangled in a prolonged legal dispute. That year, ValveTech filed suit alleging that Aerojet breached NDAs and misused trade secrets in developing the flight valve for Starliner’s service module propulsion system.

In November, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York ruled that Aerojet had indeed breached two NDAs—awarding ValveTech $850,000 in damages—but had not misappropriated trade secrets.

According to Payload Space, the company sought further restrictions on Aerojet, but a judge closed the case on May 6.

In its statement regarding the May 6 launch scrub, ValveTech raised concerns about an earlier issue with one of Starliner’s valves. But the events appear to be unrelated.

In August 2021, Boeing scrubbed Starliner’s first uncrewed flight test due to a problem with the spacecraft’s service module propulsion system—the same system ValveTech alleges Aerojet built using trade secrets.

ValveTech alleges that “NASA, Boeing, and Aerojet…qualified this valve for [Starliner CFT] without proper supporting data or previous history or legacy information,” citing witness testimony from its November trial.

However, according to NASA and ULA, the incident on May 6 involved a pressure regulation valve on ULA’s Atlas V rocket—not the service module, which is on the Starliner capsule itself.

“The concerns raised by ValveTech in relation to the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission are not applicable to the pressure regulation valve with off nominal performance during the first launch attempt,” a ULA spokesperson told FLYING.

ValveTech and Faville’s comments appear unlikely to deter NASA and Boeing from attempting a second Starliner CFT launch as early as Friday.

The companies have a $4.2 billion contract that includes six Commercial Crew rotation missions to the ISS on an unspecified timeline. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon already fills that role for the space agency. But NASA hopes to put a second spacecraft in the rotation for redundancy in the case of a contingency.

Safety, of course, remains a priority for the space agency. But with the program now several years behind schedule and an estimated $1.5 billion over budget, stakeholders will be eager to see Starliner fly with a crew as soon as possible.

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