Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which has been plagued with delays and design problems, is facing yet another setback. The much-anticipated first crewed launch of the Starliner has been postponed to May 25th, following the discovery of a helium leak in its service module.

Originally scheduled for May 6th, the liftoff had already been rescheduled due to a faulty oxygen relief valve. However, on Wednesday, a helium leak in the craft's thruster system was detected, prompting further delays. NASA assured that while the leak was stable and wouldn't pose a risk during the flight, Boeing's teams are working to develop operational procedures to ensure the system maintains sufficient performance capability and redundancy during the mission.

NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and the International Space Station Program will now review data and procedures before making a final decision on proceeding with a countdown. The delayed launch is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Starliner's first crewed mission, which intends to carry NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams to the International Space Station. After spending about a week aboard the space station, the astronauts are set to return to Earth with the assistance of parachutes and airbags, landing in the southwestern United States.

If the mission proves successful, NASA will enter the final certification process to enable Starliner for crewed rotation missions to the space station. However, the delay comes roughly a decade after Boeing was awarded a more than $4 billion contract by NASA, as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program, which aims to utilize private companies to shuttle astronauts to and from the space station following the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.

In contrast, SpaceX, another contractor under the CCP initiative, has already executed eight crewed missions for NASA as well as four private, crewed spaceflights since 2020. Boeing's Starliner program has been beset by multiple delays and design issues over the years. In 2019, during its first mission, the spacecraft failed to reach the space station due to an incorrectly set onboard clock, resulting in the engines firing too early. However, its second test flight in 2022 was successful, despite some thruster failures during launch.

Last year, Boeing scrapped the planned launch of Starliner's first crewed flight after discovering that adhesive tape used on the craft's wiring was flammable, and the connections for the capsule's parachutes were weaker than expected. This led to an indefinite delay in the launch.

As for the current delay, NASA has stated that astronauts Wilmore and Williams remain quarantined in Houston and will return to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida closer to the new launch date. The Starliner spacecraft, situated atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, is currently housed in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Apart from these challenges in the space sector, Boeing has recently faced significant scrutiny in its commercial aviation business. In January, a rear door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff. This incident led to whistleblowers coming forward to report alleged quality control issues within the company. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently conducting an audit of Boeing's production processes, and the Justice Department has announced a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident.

With the upcoming revised launch date of May 25th, all eyes are now on Boeing as it works diligently to address the helium leak issue and ensure a successful mission for the Starliner spacecraft.