NASA's highly anticipated crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft was scrubbed

 

NASA's highly anticipated crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft was scrubbed just two hours before liftoff due to a valve issue on the Atlas V rocket. The mission, dubbed the Crew Flight Test, was set to be the first crewed test run of the Starliner spacecraft and a major milestone for Boeing's Commercial Crew Program.

The valve issue, which caused a "buzzing" sound, is located on the Atlas V rocket's second stage and is being evaluated by engineers. If the valve is found to have opened and closed excessively, it may need to be replaced, and the rocket may need to be rolled back off the launchpad.

The Crew Flight Test is a critical mission for Boeing, which has faced numerous delays and setbacks in the development of the Starliner spacecraft. The company has been working to get the spacecraft ready for crewed missions since 2014, when it was selected by NASA alongside SpaceX to develop a new generation of crew vehicles.

The Starliner spacecraft is designed to rival SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which has already successfully completed several crewed missions to the International Space Station. The Starliner spacecraft is expected to provide NASA with a second option for crew transportation services, which is critical for the agency's plans to continue operating the International Space Station and to return humans to the Moon and eventually Mars.

The crew for the mission, veteran astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, have been training for months and were ready to launch on Monday night. Williams will become the first woman to join a crewed test flight of a new spacecraft.

If the mission is successful, it will mark only the sixth maiden voyage of a crewed spacecraft in US history, following in the footsteps of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the space shuttle, and SpaceX's Dragon.

The mission will see the Starliner spacecraft launch on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and travel to the International Space Station, where it will spend about a week docked before returning to Earth.

Despite the setback, NASA and Boeing remain confident in the Starliner spacecraft and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. The mission is expected to be rescheduled for no earlier than May 10.