Updated: May 6, 6:46 p.m. ET: No launch tonight. “ULA Launch Director Tom Heter III has made the decision to the launch team that launch operations will not continue tonight. [Atlas V and Starliner],” according to Tweet to the company.one Centaur Upper Level Oxygen Safety Valve is the culprit. The Atlas V is an extremely reliable rocket, so the scrubbing for technical reasons comes as a surprise. There’s no word yet on when ULA will attempt the launch again, but we’ll keep you posted.
The original text is as follows.
After more than a decade in the making, Boeing is finally ready to conduct its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of an agreement with NASA.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to launch from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 10:34 pm Eastern Time on Monday. The crew module will be aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suny Williams to and from the space station.
NASA will broadcast the launch live on its official website website and the space agency’s YouTube channel, or you can listen via the feed below. The conference will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Boeing’s manned flight test Part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to transport crew and cargo between the International Space Station $4.3 billion Sign a contract with the aerospace agency. Another commercial partner of NASA, SpaceX, just sent its eighth astronaut to the space station.
Boeing has had a hard time getting to this point. Starliner’s first unmanned test flight in 2019 managed to reach space, but a software automation glitch caused the spacecraft to burn excess fuel, preventing it from reaching the International Space Station. Starliner incorrectly calculated its position in space due to a glitch caused by a faulty mission timer.
The failure of the first flight prompted NASA to require a second test flight of the spacecraft before the crew could board the spacecraft. In May 2022, Boeing completed Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2)It was Starliner’s second unmanned test flight, laying the foundation for manned test flights.But OFT-2 encountered some problems, including Thruster failure for orbital maneuvering.
Boeing’s crewed Starliner launch was initially scheduled for February 2023, then postponed to late April and finally rescheduled for July 21, 2023. Exit from launch attempt Addresses newly discovered issues with crew vehicles.
The program suffered A series of problems and delays That made Monday’s launch absolutely nerve-wracking from the get-go.
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