CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A series of delays has led to the launch of Boeing's Starliner being put on hold indefinitely.
The capsule was supposed to take off on Saturday, but NASA announced it wouldn't after a persistent helium leak had been plaguing the spacecraft.
Two astronauts were supposed to take off on May 6, but it was called off because of problems with an oxygen pressure relief valve.
Timeline of delays
NASA, Boeing and the United Launch Alliance then targeted no earlier than May 10 for the launch before being pushed to May 17.
But, after replacing the pressure relief valve, teams detected a small helium leak and targeted Tuesday for the new take-off date to fix the leak.
Then the launch was moved to Saturday so crews could "take additional time to work through spacecraft closeout processes and flight rationale," according to NASA's Commerical Crews' blog. The additional time would allow teams to continue investigating the leak.
On the day of the scheduled take off, the NASA Commerical Crew announced the Saturday launch was canceled, and they are unsure of when the next possible date will be.
What's the goal of the Starliner?
NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station after they shut down their shuttle service.
The spacecraft was created to accommodate seven passengers for missions to low-Earth orbit. For NASA missions, it can carry up to four crew members.
The astronauts on the first test flight will travel to the space station and spend a week there before returning to Earth. They will be the first humans to fly on the Starliner, after two flights without astronauts.
If the mission is successful, NASA can start certifying the spacecraft to missions to the station.
Who will be on board?
The two NASA astronauts who are going to be flying on the spacecraft are Mission Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams.
Wilmore was previously a fighter pilot and U.S. Navy captain and completed two other spaceflights in 2009 and 2014.
Williams will be the first woman to fly on the first fight of a crewed spacecraft and is a retired U.S. Navy captain. She also completed two spaceflights in 2006 and 2012.
