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[i]Prior to launch, our team was monitoring a small leak on Starliner's propulsion system. Teams took a closer look at that system before the crew went to sleep. ... They closed all of the helium manifold vavles to collect data on that system and observed two more small leaks, one of those leaks being in port two, one being in port one and one being in top one. So just to recap and give a little more detail as to what type of helium leak we were tracking prior to launch, and that being in the location of port two. After testing all eight of Starliner's, helium manifolds, we found the leak was isolated to one flange in the spacecraft's 28 RCS thrusters, or reaction control system thrusters, which are used to make small adjustments while on orbit. Even more specifically, [the leak] was on a seal that was very tiny in size, about by the size of the button on a man's dress shirt. Overnight, we're going to keep the top one and port one closed, and they will open port two. That will give the teams the ability to manage the spacecraft. We do have confirmation from our engineering support teammates at Boeing that the helium system remains safe for flight. This was not unexpected, and we plan for cases like this. The team will be working to make sure that we're in a good configuration to complete our mission, which is rendezvous and docking with the ISS.[/i]
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