Officials said on Friday that Boeing will proceed with its first manned space flight in June, despite the unresolved issue of a minor helium gas leak on the Starliner spaceship.
The Starliner spacecraft was scheduled to transport astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to space on May 6. However, the mission was delayed just hours before its launch due to the identification of technical problems with the spacecraft.
Subsequently, further problems were discovered, one of which being a helium leak in the spacecraft’s service module.
Nevertheless, Boeing and NASA opted to embark on the journey to the International Space Station (ISS) without undertaking the task of changing the seal on a defective joint.
According to Steve Stich, the Commercial Crew Program Manager at NASA, we have the capability to manage this specific leak even if the rate of leakage were to increase by up to 100 times. He further said that this leak impacts a group of 28 thrusters that are responsible for controlling the spacecraft’s orientation.
Prior to the launch, teams will oversee and supervise the leak.