Boeing admits Starliner still having problems as NASA schedules OFT-2 briefing

Boeing continues to attempt to fix its Starliner spacecraft, after NASA scrubbed the OFT-2 launch last week following seizures in multiple key valves. The mission was meant to give Boeing an overdue opportunity to demonstrate that its CST-100 could safely reach the International Space Station and thus allow the aerospace company to move ahead in NASA's Commercial Crew program.

Instead, Orbital Flight Test-2 was delayed, first because of issues at the ISS with the newly-arrived Russian module, and then because of issues that arose in the rescheduled countdown to launch. NASA and Boeing downplayed the issue initially, but the company later admitted that 13 important valves had failed to open as they were meant to.

Those oxidizer valves are part of the Starliner's propulsion system. Boeing managed to get a handful of them to open last weekend, but admitted on Thursday, August 12, that it was still working on some of the more stubborn examples.

"Nine of the previously affected 13 valves are now open and functioning normally after the application of electrical and thermal techniques to prompt and command them open," Boeing said. "Similar techniques are now being applied to the four valves that remain closed."

The lingering question has been when Boeing and NASA might be able to reschedule the launch to, with initial suggestions of a new date in August. However, how realistic that might be seems increasingly unclear.

"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," John Vollmer, Starliner vice president and program manager, insists.

NASA confirmed today that the two organizations would be holding a press conference on Friday, August 13, to discuss the status of the Starliner program. It will focus on when, exactly, OFT-2 could realistically take place. In attendance will be Kathryn Lueders, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, Joel Montalbano, manager of NASA's International Space Station Program, Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, and John Vollmer, vice president and program manager of Boeing's Commercial Crew Program.

The briefing will begin at 1pm EDT today. OFT-2 is intended to see Starliner launch on a ULA Atlas V rocket, travel to the ISS, and then dock at the orbiting research platform. After that, it will detach and return to Earth. It's a key demonstration that needs to be completed successfully before NASA will give the go-ahead for a crewed flight, made particularly pressing given Boeing's struggles in 2019 to demonstrate the spacecraft's efficacy.