Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed over Atlas rocket glitch

Item 1 of 7 A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying two astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test , is shown after the launch was delayed for technical issues prior to a mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 6, 2024.

Its latest flight was scrubbed with less than two hours left in the countdown as the capsule stood poised for blastoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop an Atlas V rocket furnished by United Launch Alliance , a Boeing-Lockheed Martin The decision to reschedule the flight for Friday was made after a ULA team worked overnight to test the valve and examine how serious the issue was. The next available launch windows were Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

It is not uncommon in the space industry for countdowns to be halted at the 11th hour and for launches to be postponed for days or weeks, even when seemingly minor malfunctions or unusual sensor readings are detected, especially in new spacecraft flying humans for the first time., including the mid-air blowout of a plane door plug in January.

Although Starliner is designed to fly autonomously, the astronauts can assume control of the spacecraft if necessary. The test flight calls for Wilmore and Williams to practice maneuvering the vehicle manually while en route to the ISS. Wilmore and Williams are expected to remain at the space station for about a week before riding the Starliner back to Earth for a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the U.S. Desert Southwest - the first time such a system has been used for crewed NASA missions.

AER AERO CMPNY COMAIR GEN INDG INDG08 INDS INDS08 NEWS1 PRIVT PUBL SCI SPACEM SPEX TECH TECH08 TMT GB WEU AMERS US EUROP USAFL NAMER EMEA SPC TOPNWS AERO1 TOPCMB PACKAGE:US-TOP-NEWS PACKAGE:WORLD-NEWS MTVID

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Faulty Atlas V Valve Leads to Rescheduling of NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight TestScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Source: SciTechDaily1 - 🏆 84. / 68 Read more »

Boeing Starliner launch delayed to at least May 17 for Atlas 5 rocket repairUnited Launch Alliance decided to replace a suspect valve in the Atlas 5 rocket's upper stage, delaying launch to late next week.
Source: CBSNews - 🏆 87. / 68 Read more »

Boeing Starliner brings astronaut launches back to Atlas rocket and Cape CanaveralRobert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.
Source: SPACEdotcom - 🏆 92. / 67 Read more »

Watch ULA assemble Atlas V rocket ahead of Boeing Starliner astronaut test flight (video)Josh Dinner is Space.com's Content Manager. He is a writer and photographer with a passion for science and space exploration, and has been working the space beat since 2016.
Source: SPACEdotcom - 🏆 92. / 67 Read more »

NASA and Boeing Prep Starliner and Atlas V Rocket Prep for Historic ISS JourneyScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Source: SciTechDaily1 - 🏆 84. / 68 Read more »

Boeing Starliner spacecraft rolls out to Atlas V rocket ahead of 1st astronaut launch (photos)Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time.
Source: SPACEdotcom - 🏆 92. / 67 Read more »