The troubled Starliner spaceship could be set for further
delays after the company said Thursday it was working to solve problems with
the propulsion system.
The spaceship's latest launch date on August 4 was cancelled
over propulsion issues, and it remains unclear when the next test flight will
be scheduled.
"Over the past couple of days, our team has taken the
necessary time to safely access and test the affected valves, and not let the
launch window dictate our pace," said John Vollmer, Starliner vice
president and programme manager.
The glitch is the latest to delay development of the
capsule, which Boeing built under contract with NASA to ferry astronauts to low
Earth orbit following the end of the Space Shuttle programme.
Boeing needs to succeed with an uncrewed test flight before
flying humans.
SpaceX, the other company given a multibillion-dollar
contract by NASA for taxi rides to the International Space Station (ISS), has
now undertaken three crewed missions.
Boeing said in a statement it would work with NASA to
confirm a new launch date when the spacecraft is ready.
During an initial uncrewed test flight in December 2019, the
Starliner capsule experienced glitches with its thrusters.
It did not have enough fuel to reach the International Space
Station and had to return to Earth prematurely.
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