NASA, Boeing defer Orbital Flight Test-2 launch due to technical snag

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that the launch of Orbital Flight Test-2 to the International Space Station is also postponed due to a technical snag in the CST-100 Starliner propulsion system. Due to a vexing valve problem, Boeing's astronaut capsule is grounded for months. According to NASA's latest statement, it was the mutual decision of the space agency and Boeing, an American multinational corporation that deals with the designs, manufactures, and sells aeroplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. NASA informed that the engineering teams have been working to restore functionality to several valves in the Starliner propulsion system. It is worth mentioning that the Starliner propulsion system did not open as designed during the launch countdown on August 3 this year.

Here is the official tweet of NASA Commercial Crew:

Boeing astronaut capsule was scheduled to carry a mannequin

According to the reports, the Boeing Astronaut Capsule was scheduled to carry a mannequin but no astronauts — when the trouble arose. Software issues plagued a similar capsule in 2019 that prevented it from reaching the space station. "We made a lot of progress to open the valves from inside the Vertical Integration Facility, and the NASA-Boeing teams did a great job doing everything we could to get ready for this launch opportunity,” said Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "Although we wanted to see Starliner fly in this window, it’s critical that our primary focus is the safety of the crew transportation system – for the safety of the space station and the crew members that will be flying on these vehicles. We’ll only fly this test when we think we are ready and can complete the mission objectives."

Yet to announce next launch

The NASA officials said that the teams will now begin moving Starliner back to Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility in Florida for deeper-level troubleshooting. Though the next launch date is yet to announce, John Vollmer, vice president and program manager, Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program said that the "mission success" in human spaceflight would depend on thousands of factors coming together at the right time. "We’ll continue to work the issue from the Starliner factory and have decided to stand down for this launch window to make way for other national priority missions."

NASA's 'Perseverance Rover' fails to collect samples of Martian rock 

Earlier the space agency announced making final preparations for its Perseverance Mars rover to collect its first-ever sample of Martian rock; on August 7, it told that the sample tube was empty when received on the Earth. This came after NASA shared pictures of the borehole drilled to the proper depth of nearly 3 inches (8 centimetres) by the Perseverance rover, which is considered the most advanced astrobiology lab ever sent to space. However, when it reached the blue planet with an empty tube, the engineers concluded that the rock was weak to produce a core sample. They also noted that powdery fragments remained in the hole or ended up in the cuttings pile- or both.

(With inputs from NASA statement)

(Image Credit: AP)