Boeing Starliner’s inaugural manned mission canceled

Boeing’s Starliner launch, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed just two hours before liftoff due to an issue with the oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V rocket’s upper stage. This delay comes after years of delays and over $1 billion in cost overruns for Boeing’s first attempt to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V will carry the CST-100 Starliner capsule to orbit with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams once the issue is resolved. This mission marks the first time ULA’s Atlas will carry crew, boasting a 100% success rate across 99 missions.

The astronauts are now expected to dock at the station on Thursday and return to Earth no earlier than May 16. If successful, Boeing will finally certify its Starliner for human transportation and fulfill its $4.2 billion NASA astronaut taxi contract awarded in 2014.

While SpaceX has been successful in transporting astronauts to the ISS since 2020, Boeing has faced setbacks with technical issues delaying previous attempts. Despite these challenges, both NASA and Boeing remain committed to the mission and the safety of the astronauts.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, commented on the mission, highlighting the efficiency of SpaceX in completing their astronaut capsule compared to Boeing. The success of this mission will bring NASA closer to having two operational transportation providers, providing critical redundancy to the Commercial Crew program.