Boeing was forced to cancel the first manned Starliner launch to the space station

NASA and Boeing were forced to back off a launch attempt to the International Space Station on Monday because of a last-minute problem that developed with a valve on the spacecraft’s rocket.

Boeing’s Starliner capsule was scheduled to lift off at 10:34 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on its first crewed test flight. NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams were aboard the capsule and strapped into their seats when the launch attempt was aborted, about two hours before the planned launch.

NASA announced early Tuesday that A The second attempt will not take place before Friday.

Mission controllers declared Monday’s launch “clean” after discovering a valve anomaly on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, which the Starliner capsule was scheduled to take to orbit.

United Launch Alliance officials said in a post on X that the launch attempt was canceled “out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the flight and pad crew,” adding that the team needed “additional time to complete the full assessment.”

The analysis will include whether the pressure-regulating valve in the rocket’s upper stage needs to be replaced, which could cause a longer delay.

A crewed Starliner flight, when it occurs, will be a crucial final test before NASA can allow Boeing to conduct routine flights to and from the space station.

Officials at NASA and Boeing said safety is critical for the spacecraft’s first flight with humans on board.

The canceled launch represents another setback for Boeing, which has already dealt with years of delays and budget overruns with its Starliner program. It has fallen significantly short of SpaceX, which has been sending crewed missions to and from the space station for NASA since 2020.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and Boeing’s Starliner vehicle were both developed as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The initiative began more than a decade ago, after the agency’s space shuttles retired, to support private companies in building new spacecraft to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit.

Starliner’s first unmanned flight was aborted in 2019 due to software issues, forcing mission controllers to cut short testing before the vehicle could attempt rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. Then the second attempt was postponed several times due to problems with the fuel valve, and it was not until 2022 that Boeing was able to carry out a successful uncrewed flight to and from the space station.