Starliner’s first crewed launch referred to as off simply two hours earlier than liftoff
A technical concern has pressured NASA engineers to name off Monday’s launch of the Starliner spacecraft.
The determination to clean the launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida got here simply two hours earlier than the ULA’s Atlas V rocket was on account of raise off at 10:34 p.m. ET, and simply minutes after NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had been strapped into their seats contained in the Starliner spacecraft.
Details are nonetheless coming by means of concerning the determination to cease the countdown clock, however commentators on NASA’s official stay stream mentioned it was on account of a difficulty with an oxygen reduction valve on Centaur, the second stage of the Atlas V rocket.
“This decision was not made lightly and was done out of an abundance of caution,” a NASA official mentioned shortly after the choice was introduced.
NASA chief Bill Nelson reiterated the remarks, saying in a put up on social media that the “first priority is safety.”
Standing down on tonight’s try and launch #Starliner. As I’ve mentioned earlier than, @NASA’s first precedence is security. We go once we’re prepared. https://t.co/KIasomZG66
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) May 7, 2024
The scrub is a giant disappointment for the crew and launch workforce, although as soon as the problem has been resolved, a brand new date for liftoff ought to have the ability to be organized with out an excessive amount of delay. Commentators on the stay stream advised that one other launch try may very well be made at the same time as early as tomorrow.
Considering the massive variety of points with the Starliner throughout its multi-year improvement, it can come as a reduction for Boeing that Monday evening’s downside has nothing to do with its spacecraft. Now its right down to ULA engineers to analyze the problem with the Centaur stage of the Atlas V rocket and to repair it in order that the launch workforce can go once more.
