In this handout provided by NASA, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is seen rolling out of the vertical integration facility to launch at the space launch site Taiwan, Saturday, May 4, 2024, on the 41st before NASA’s Boeing manned flight test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Joel Kosky | NASA | Handout | Getty Images
NASA and Boeing forced to withdraw Attempt to launch to the International Space Station Monday due to a last-minute problem with a valve on the spacecraft’s rocket.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule was scheduled to lift off from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 10:34 pm ET for its first crewed test flight. NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams They were already aboard the capsule and strapped into their seats when the launch attempt was called off, about two hours ahead of schedule.
A new release date has not yet been announced.
Mission controllers declared an “emergency” for the launch after an anomaly was detected in an oxygen valve on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, which the Starliner capsule will ride into orbit.
In this handout provided by NASA, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is seen on launch pad 41 in front of a NASA Boeing crew Illuminated by spotlights.
Joel Kosky | NASA | Handout | Getty Images
Once the crewed Starliner flight occurs, it will be a crucial final test before NASA authorizes Boeing to conduct routine flights to and from the space station.
Officials from NASA and Boeing say safety is paramount for the spacecraft’s first crewed flight.
The delayed launch is another setback for Boeing, which has dealt with years of delays and budget overruns on its Starliner program. It already lags far behind SpaceX, which has been flying crew missions to and from the space station for NASA since 2020.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft were both developed as part of NASA’s commercial crew program. The program began more than a decade ago when the agency’s space shuttle was retired and was designed to support private companies building new spacecraft to carry astronauts into low-Earth orbit.
Starliner’s first unmanned flight in 2019 was hampered by software issues. Force mission controllers to shorten test times before the vehicle attempts to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station. Subsequently, the second attempt was delayed multiple times due to fuel valve problems, and it was not until 2022 that Boeing was able to make a second attempt. Successful unmanned flight to and from the space station.
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