Today, we have an intriguing story about Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and its recent helium leak saga. Buckle up, because this one's a wild ride!
NASA has confirmed that the Starliner has experienced its fifth helium leak in the propulsion system. This might sound alarming, but let’s break it down. The spacecraft teams are examining what impacts these five small leaks in the service module helium manifolds might have on the remainder of the mission.
Initially, NASA mentioned there were four leaks following the spacecraft’s June 6 docking with the International Space Station. However, a fifth leak was detected around the time of that post-docking briefing. NASA spokesperson Josh Finch reported that this latest leak is considerably smaller than the others, recording at 1.7 psi per minute.