Boeing Starliner’s Crewed Test Flight Scrubbed Due to Valve Issue

Boeing and NASA were forced to postpone the crewed test flight of the Starliner capsule due to a sudden valve issue with the rocket on Monday.

The scheduled lift-off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station had to be halted as the anomaly was detected on an oxygen valve of the Atlas V rocket carrying the Starliner capsule.

Two veteran astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, were onboard and strapped in for the mission when the launch was scrubbed roughly two hours before the planned liftoff.

A new launch date has not been announced yet as officials work to address the valve problem.

The Crew Flight Test is crucial for Boeing to obtain approval from NASA for regular space station flights.

Boeing’s Starliner program has faced years of setbacks, unlike SpaceX‘s success in flying crewed missions since 2020 under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Starliner’s first uncrewed flight in 2019 was hampered by software issues before another delayed attempt faced fuel valve problems.

It wasn’t until 2022 that Boeing managed to complete a successful uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were slated to spend a week aboard the Starliner at the ISS before returning to Earth, a mission they had been preparing for diligently.

Navigation consultant Laura Forczyk highlighted the importance of this test flight, stressing the gap between the last successful flight and the current attempt.

Boeing’s commercial aviation sector has also faced challenges, including quality control concerns following an incident involving Alaska Airlines in January.

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an audit into Boeing’s production standards, while the Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines occurrence.

NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel contributed additional reporting to this article.