Boeing aborted its first-ever astronaut launch at the final moment after discovering a valve problem in the Atlas V rocket.
The two NASA test pilots just docked in Boeing‘s Starliner capsule at Cape Canaveral space station for a flight to the International Space Station on Monday night (US EST) when the countdown stopped – two hours before the scheduled liftoff.
It was the latest delay for Boeing’s first crewed flight, on hold for years because of a capsule problem.
The Atlas V rocket is produced by the United Launch Alliance, which includes Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
United Launch Alliance chief executive Tory Bruno said the most recent delay may have been caused by an oxygen pressure-relief valve on the rocket’s upper stage that began to flutter open and close, creating a loud hum.
The valve may have exceeded its 200,000 lifetime cycles, meaning it will need to be replaced, pushing the launch into next week, Bruno said.
In an update, NASA said the launch will take place no earlier than Friday.
Mr Bruno said similar valve problems had occurred in previous years on other Atlas rockets launching satellites and these had been resolved by turning the valves off and back on.
But the company has stricter flight rules for astronaut flights, prohibiting valve recycling when a crew is on board.
“And so we stuck with the rules and the procedures, and scrubbed as a result,” Mr. Bruno said at a press conference.
It meant the two-member crew of NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore, 61, and Sunita “Suni” Williams, 58, had to be removed from the capsule by technicians, before they were whisked away from the launch complex to wait a second . flight test when the problem is solved.
NASA commercial crew manager Steve Stich added: “We’re taking it one step at a time, and we’ll launch when we’re ready and fly when it’s safe to do so.”
The first unmanned Starliner test flight failed to reach the space station in 2019 and Boeing had to repeat the flight. The company then ran into parachute issues and flammable tape.
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NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX a decade ago to ferry astronauts to and from the space station after the shuttle program ended, paying the private companies billions of dollars.
Atlas V operated for more than 20 years after it was designed by Lockheed Martin.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
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