NASA will try to ship a pair of astronauts to house aboard Boeing’s Starliner plane for the primary time quickly, however not as we speak. Because the the astronauts settled into place, officers scrubbed Monday night time’s deliberate launch try at round 8:30PM ET, as a result of “a faulty oxygen relief valve observation” on the ULA Atlas V rocket’s Centaur second stage. One other launch window is offered on Tuesday night time, nevertheless it’s unclear whether or not they’ll be capable to reset that shortly.
The launch was scheduled to happen at 10:34PM ET from the Cape Canaveral Area Power Station in Florida, with a livestream out there on NASA’s YouTube channel.
The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket will propel the Starliner plane to house, the place it’ll keep on the ISS for one week. Whereas on board, flight commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams will take a look at the Starliner’s capabilities, together with launching, docking, and its eventual return to Earth.
Boeing constructed the Starliner as a part of its $4.2 billion contract with NASA, which inspires the event of latest spacecraft from non-public corporations by means of the company’s Industrial Crew Program.
If all goes nicely throughout this flight, NASA will certify Starliner, permitting it to ferry NASA astronauts between Earth and the ISS. This might make the Starliner a brand new rival for SpaceX, which has been carrying NASA astronauts to space since 2020.
Replace Could sixth: Added particulars about scrubbed Monday night time launch try.