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Update : The Starliner mission will not move forward until no earlier than May 17 , NASA herald . The long delay is to ensure launch supplier United Launch Alliance can cast the rocket back to the Vertical Integration Facility airdock to replace a valve .
Boeing’sStarlinerlaunch tonight has been postponed “ out of an teemingness of precaution ” scarce two hours before the historic liftoff . The scouring is reportedly due to an issue with the oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V roquette ’s upper level .
There are backup launch opportunities on May 7 , 10 and 11 . After years of delays and over $ 1 billion in monetary value overrun , the foreign mission is set to be Boeing ’s first attempt to transport spaceman to the International Space Station .
Once the issue is resolved with the upper stage , the United Launch Alliance ( ULA ) Atlas V will carry the CST-100 Starliner capsule to revolve along with the two onboard cosmonaut — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — from Florida ’s Cape Canaveral at 10:34 p.m. local time Monday evening . The mission also mark off the first clip ULA ’s Atlas will carry crew . The roquette boasts a success rate of 100 % across 99 missions . ( ULA is a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin . )
The cosmonaut would now dock at the post at the earliest on Thursday , where they would stay for at least eight days . The two cosmonaut will generate to Earth in the abridgment no earlier than May 16 .
If all goes to plan , Boeing will be able to finally manifest its Starliner for human transportation and get satisfy the terms of its $ 4.2 billion NASA spaceman cab declaration . That contract bridge , under the agency ’s Commercial Crew Program , was awarded in 2014 . Elon Musk ’s SpaceX was also granted a declaration under that program , for its Crew Dragon capsule , and has been channel astronauts to and from the ISS since 2020 .
While SpaceX has soared in its human transportation services , flying over a dozen crewed missions and also racking up private flights with Axiom Space and billionaire Jared Isaacman , Boeing has fall acutely behind . The aerospace giant to begin with attempt an uncrewed mission to the ISS in 2019 , thoughthat failed due to technical issues ; further problem stay the next attempt , until it was in the end attain in 2022 .
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As of last year , Boeing had rung up $ 1.5 billion in charge due to the long - delayed Starliner computer programme .
But despite the technical snags , both NASA and Boeing have stressed their commitment to the mission and to the safety of the two astronauts .
“ The lives of our work party members , Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore , are at wager , ” NASA ’s associate executive Jim Free said in a closet conference late last month . “ We do n’t take that gently at all . ”
Indeed , for NASA , a successful deputation will bring the agency one footstep closer to having two in operation transit provider , bestow vital redundancy to the Commercial Crew program . Per Boeing ’s contract , it is on the line for six astronaut missionary station .
Musk take to X , the social media platform he also possess , to comment on the mission , noting that “ although Boeing capture $ 4.2 billion to educate an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only begin $ 2.6 billion , SpaceX finished 4 year earlier . ”
Although Boeing have $ 4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only got $ 2.6 billion , SpaceX finish 4 years earlier . observe , the crowd capsule intention of Dragon 2 has almost nothing in coarse with Dragon 1.Too many non - technical handler at Boeing.https://t.co/bTXWAfxfrh
