Boeing Starliner manned mission delayed shortly before takeoff
The first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), which had been delayed for years, was delayed two hours before takeoff on Monday due to safety concerns.
“Today’s launch attempt has been postponed,” Bill Nelson, head of the American space agency NASA, tweeted. “NASA’s first priority is safety. We will go there when we are ready,” he added.
As explained by the launch vehicle manufacturer, United Launch Alliance (ULA), an anomaly was discovered in the valve of the Atlas V rocket, which was supposed to launch the Starliner capsule into orbit.
In theory, takeoff could be reattempted on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday or the middle of next week, but that would depend on analysis by technicians at ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
If the valve has to be replaced, the operation will take “several days,” ULA chief Tory Bruno said at a news conference.
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Bruno said the team will be working “all night” and should present their analysis on Tuesday morning. He also claimed that “the crew were never in danger.”
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, were already in their seats preparing for takeoff when the cancellation occurred.
Preparations, however, went smoothly: the rocket was fueled, the weather was ideal, and the astronauts were seated.
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Boeing has a lot at stake in the Starliner development program, which has become a saga marked by unpleasant surprises, delays and setbacks.
The aerospace giant must prove its capsule is safe before it can begin regular flights to the International Space Station, four years behind SpaceX.
For NASA, which ordered the device ten years ago, this is also a “very important” task.
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Having a second ship in addition to SpaceX to carry American astronauts will allow the company to better respond to “various emergency scenarios,” for example, in the event of a problem with one of the ships, said Dana Weigel, ISS program manager.
The success of this mission would also be more than welcome for Boeing, which has been experiencing safety issues with its aircraft and a major delay in its Starliner program.
In 2019, during the first unmanned test, the capsule failed to reach the correct trajectory and returned before reaching the Space Station.
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Then, in 2021, while the rocket was on the launch pad to attempt flight again, a problem with blocked valves, this time in the capsule, caused another delay.
It was only in May 2022 that an unmanned spacecraft managed to dock with the ISS for the first time.
Boeing thought it could make its first manned flight that same year, but last-minute problems with the parachutes, which slow the capsule as it enters the atmosphere, forced another delay.
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Few American spacecraft have successfully carried astronauts.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule joined this list in 2020, replacing the legendary Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs.
After the end of the shuttle’s career, NASA astronauts had to travel aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
To end this dependency, NASA signed a $4.2 billion contract with Boeing in 2014 and another $2.6 billion contract with SpaceX to develop new spacecraft.
Despite the difference in funding, “SpaceX finished four years ahead of” its competitor, SpaceX owner tycoon Elon Musk said Monday.
Once Starliner is operational, NASA hopes to alternate SpaceX and Boeing flights to carry astronauts to the ISS.
Starting in 2030, when NASA retires from the ISS, two spacecraft could be used to transport people to future private space stations.