Starliner, You've Sprung Another Leak?

Nervous, sweaty, and clutching his unstylish hat as though for protection, Soviet Ambassador to the United States Andrei Lysenko was forced to admit to National Security Advisor Jeffrey Pelt that, during the hunt for Red October, another Soviet nuclear-powered attack sub had gone missing. Then, in one of the best-loved lines in movie history — at least here in my house — Pelt rubs his eyes under his glasses and, sounding like a disappointed schoolteacher, asks Lysenko, "Andrei, you've lost another submarine?" 

That's all fiction, of course, courtesy of John McTiernan's excellent movie adaptation of Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October."

But today in the all-too-real world, I find myself wanting to rub my eyes and ask, "Starliner, you've sprung another leak?" Because, yes indeed, that's exactly what happened to the Boeing space capsule, currently docked with the International Space Station for a weeklong stay during its first manned test flight.

For those keeping count, this is now Starliner's fifth helium leak.

I'm not one who believes in curses, so I was just being playful when I asked two weeks ago, "Is This Thing Cursed?" That was when a computer problem with Starliner's proven Atlas V launch vehicle forced NASA to scrub the Saturday, June 1, launch attempt. The reason I asked was because that scrub came just weeks after the initial launch attempt was scrubbed when a small helium leak was found in one of Starliner's 28 maneuvering thrusters.

Those failed attempts followed two unmanned flight tests — both years late and way over budget. The first flight test was a total failure and the other left lingering questions about Starliner's heat shield.

So last week, when Starliner finally made it into orbit with actual people inside (that is its job, after all), and three more helium leaks were found, I was forced to ask, "Seriously, Is Boeing Starliner Cursed?"

I must reiterate that I do not believe in curses — but with today's news, maybe I should.

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Space News reported on Tuesday that NASA has revealed a fifth helium leak and that the agency is investigating "'what impacts, if any, five small leaks in the service module helium manifolds would have on the remainder of the mission."

More thruster problems developed once Starliner reached orbit. They were considered worrisome enough that the ship — and its crew of mission commander Barry Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams — was waved off from its first docking attempt and made to wait outside the "keep out sphere" around the ISS for an hour or so while engineers on the ground got things working just well enough to dock.

That's when the fifth leak was found. It's small. The helium was shut off at once to prevent any further loss. Space News also reported that "engineers estimate that Starliner has enough helium to support 70 hours of flight operations, while only seven hours is needed for Starliner to return to Earth."

So they have that going for them. Which is nice.

But whatever is going on up there, it disproves Boeing's hope that the original leak was due to nothing more serious than a bad seal. 

Starliner was originally supposed to undock on June 14 for Wimore and Williams' return to Earth but that's been bumped back — just like every other Starliner flight — to "no earlier than June 18."

Godspeed.

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