A portion of Boeing Co.’s astronaut test capsule suffered what was described as an “anomaly” during an engine test fire last month, which analysts said is likely to delay the Chicago aerospace giant’s first flight of astronauts from U.S. soil even further.
The issue occurred early last month when the test version of what’s known as the integrated service module was undergoing a hot-fire test of its launch-abort engines. The service module provides propulsion when the capsule reaches orbit. If something goes wrong during launch, the module will be able to blast the capsule away. It is located below the crew capsule, which holds astronauts and cargo.
Chicago-based Boeing said in a statement Monday the engines on the service module ignited and ran for the full duration of the test, which was performed an at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. But during engine shutdown, “an anomaly occurred” that resulted in a propellant leak. Boeing declined to provide more information about the problem or how the leak occurred. The crew module was not involved in this particular test.
The company said it was “confident” it had found the cause, is “moving forward with corrective action” and has been conducting a “thorough” investigation with NASA’s assistance.
