CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The first-ever crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft scheduled for Monday night was scrubbed due to an oxygen relief valve issue in the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5′s Centaur upper stage.
NASA said that astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have exited Starliner and will return to crew quarters.
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Today's #Starliner launch is scrubbed as teams evaluate an oxygen relief valve on the Centaur Stage on the Atlas V. Our astronauts have exited Starliner and will return to crew quarters. For updates, watch our live coverage: https://t.co/plfuHQtv4l
— NASA (@NASA) May 7, 2024
The launch was set for 10:34 p.m. at Space Launch Complex 41. The United Launch Alliance says because the team needs additional time to complete a full assessment, the next launch attempt will be no earlier than Friday, May 10.
ULA Launch Director Tom Heter III has made the decision to the launch team that launch operations will not continue tonight for #AtlasV and #Starliner.https://t.co/yCCjHu9R5K
— ULA (@ulalaunch) May 7, 2024
Monday’s scrub adds to Starliner’s long list of delays as Boeing grappled with continued technical issues. The project is running years behind schedule.
NASA turned to U.S. companies for astronaut rides after the space shuttles were retired. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has made nine taxi trips for NASA since 2020, while Boeing has managed only a pair of unoccupied test flights.
When Starliner finally lifts off, NASA can alternate between Boeing and SpaceX to get astronauts to and from the space station.
No one was aboard Boeing’s two previous Starliner test flights. The first, in 2019, was hit with software trouble so severe that its empty capsule couldn’t reach the station until the second try in 2022. Then last summer, weak parachutes and flammable tape cropped up that needed to be fixed or removed.
The launch opportunity on Friday starts at 9 p.m., and on Saturday starting at 8:38 p.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.