(Washington) Two new helium leaks, in addition to a previously known leak, have been discovered while flying on the spacecraft Starliner A Boeing plane carrying two NASA astronauts is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Thursday.
NASA said overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that the spacecraft “remains stable.”
in everything, Starliner He now has three helium leaks. One of them was identified before the takeoff of this years-awaited mission, which took place on Wednesday from Florida.
It was decided not to repair this first leak of helium found on one of the ship's engines, because after analysis, NASA described it as “small” and considered it did not represent a danger.
Helium is not a flammable gas, but it is used in a ship's propulsion system.
The other two leaks are “new since the spacecraft reached orbit,” NASA said on the X website. Two of the damaged helium valves were closed. »
Thursday morning, NASA said mission officials met and gave the spacecraft the green light to dock with the International Space Station (ISS), which is still scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Eastern.
“They have checked the condition of the vehicle and are continuing to monitor” the flow of leaks, she added.
A press conference is also scheduled after the ship docks with the International Space Station.
Boeing must prove that during this test flight Starliner Safe to start regular operations. The empty spaceship has already reached the International Space Station once in 2022, but this is the first time it has carried astronauts.
Butch Wilmore, 61, and Sonny Williams, 58, have both gone to the International Space Station twice in the past and have been training for several years for this mission.
Development programme Starliner It was marred by multiple disappointments that led to years of delay.
Thus, Boeing beat out SpaceX, which has already been transporting astronauts to the International Space Station since 2020.
But NASA wants to have a second means of transportation so it can better deal with potential problems in one of the capsules or an emergency.
