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Old 6th June 2024 | 07:12
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ORAC
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From: Peripatetic
Looks like they didn’t solve the problem….. Flight controllers in Houston are troubleshooting a helium leak in the propulsion system on Boeing's Starliner.

According to a mission commentator the crew has closed all helium manifold valves in an effort to isolate the leak.

Helium provides pressure to the propulsion system, which is used for manuevering and the braking burn needed to return the astronauts to Earth.

A helium leak detected prior to launch delayed the mission by several weeks but was deemed safe to fly with.

Adding some additional context on the helium leaks onboard Starliner: teams are monitoring two new leaks beyond the original leak detected prior to liftoff. One is in the port 2 manifold, one in the port 1 manifold and the other in the top manifold.

The port 2 manifold leak, connected to one of the Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, is the one engineers were tracking pre-launch.

The spacecraft is in a stable configuration and teams are pressing forward with the plan to rendezvous and dock with the ISS on June 6 at about 12:15 pm EDT (1615 UTC).

Boeing engineer Brandon Burroughs explains more about the solution in work overnight and what comes next.

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