NASA astronauts had arrived in the final hours before an expected launch attempt aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule, the first crewed mission of the new spacecraft.
But the mission was canceled about two hours before the countdown clock hit zero because of a problem with a valve on the Atlas V rocket, a cargo vehicle built in Alabama by United Launch Alliance that will launch the Starliner capsule into space.
Launch officials do not yet know when they will make a second attempt to lift off Starliner, although they are targeting Friday, May 10.
“The good things are worth waiting for, and soon we’ll have the opportunity to see that rocket and spacecraft lift off here,” NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox said during a news conference Monday evening. “We still need to collect more data. We don’t have a definitive plan for you yet; “We will have it as soon as we can provide it to you.”
The valve in question is located in the second stage of the Atlas V rocket, or on top of the vehicle that is connected to the Starliner spacecraft.
Occasionally, the valves can reach a position where they begin to “buzz” by opening and closing rapidly, said Tory Bruno, executive director of the United Launch Alliance.
A little hum is fine, but too much could cause the valve to fail, Bruno said. And now engineers need to determine whether the component opened and closed enough to cause concern.
Officials will spend a day evaluating the problem and determining whether the valve needs to be replaced and the rocket removed from the launch pad.
Starliner, which Boeing designed to rival SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, was scheduled to lift off for its inaugural crew test at 10:34 p.m. ET Monday from the Space Force Station. from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
This mission, called Crew Flight Test, could be the last major milestone before NASA deems Boeing’s spacecraft ready for routine operations as part of the federal agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The Starliner would join SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in NASA’s push to collaborate with private industry partners, expanding the United States‘ options for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station.
The mission’s crew members are veteran astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, each of whom have ventured into space on two previous trips aboard NASA’s space shuttle and Russian Soyuz missions.
“They’re checking a lot of the systems: life support, manual control,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a news conference Friday. “That’s why we brought in two test drivers, and of course Butch and Suni’s credentials are extensive.”
This would be only the sixth maiden voyage of a manned spacecraft in American history, Nelson noted: “It started with Mercury, then Gemini, then Apollo, the space shuttle, then (SpaceX’s) Dragon and now Starliner.” .
Williams will also become the first woman to join such a mission.
If all goes as planned after launch, the spacecraft, carrying the astronauts, will separate from the Atlas V rocket after reaching orbit and begin firing its own engines. The Starliner will then spend more than 24 hours gradually advancing toward the space station.
Williams and Wilmore will spend about a week aboard the orbiting laboratory, joining the seven astronauts and cosmonauts already on board, while the Starliner remains docked outside.
The two will then return home aboard the same Starliner capsule, which is expected to parachute and land at one of several designated locations throughout the southwestern United States.
A lot is at stake in a smooth test flight. NASA has been waiting half a decade for Starliner to begin crewed flight, and Starliner’s development was plagued by years of delays, setbacks, and blunders. More broadly, Boeing as a company has suffered years of scandals in its aircraft division that have tarnished the aerospace giant’s brand.
“We went through a pretty rigorous process to get here,” Mark Nappi, vice president and director of Boeing’s Starliner program, said of the development process during Friday’s briefing. “And really my source of confidence comes from going through that process.”
If successful, the crewed test flight could put Boeing in line to begin routine trips to the space station on behalf of NASA.
The US space agency selected Boeing to develop Starliner, along with SpaceX and its Crew Dragon capsule, in 2014, hoping that commercial companies could create new complementary means of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station after the space station program space shuttle will retire in 2011.
SpaceX finally beat Boeing to the launch pad, conducting its crew flight test of the Crew Dragon capsule in May 2020. SpaceX has handled most of NASA’s crew transportation needs since then.
“We applaud SpaceX. That is something very important for our country and very important for NASA to have that access,” Nappi said during a press conference in March. “And we also hope to offer (astronaut transportation services).”