In a surprising turn of events, Boeing's inaugural Starliner flight, scheduled to carry astronauts for the first time, was abruptly canceled mere minutes before takeoff on Saturday.
The backup launch, planned for Sunday, was also called off.
The aerospace giant had set its sights on a June 1 launch at 12:25 p.m. ET for its capsule, a crucial final test of the system that would have transported astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
Following the unexpected cancellation, representatives from Boeing, NASA, and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) convened for a press conference to shed light on the malfunction and discuss the status of the next launch attempt.
Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing's Commercial Crew Program, expressed his disappointment, albeit briefly. "The disappointment lasts for about three seconds," he said. "And then you just immediately get busy and do your job."
A backup launch had been slated for Sunday at 12:03 p.m. ET. However, NASA announced the cancellation of the Sunday launch on Saturday evening, citing the need for "additional time to assess a ground support equipment issue" at the Florida launch site.
NASA has promised further updates, with the next potential launch dates being June 5 and June 6. An investigation into the cause of the malfunction is currently underway.
"The leading suspect would be either a hardware problem or a problem with the network," ULA CEO Tory Bruno stated at the Saturday press conference, cautioning that the investigation is still ongoing.
Earlier on Saturday, the launch was automatically put on hold for an unspecified reason, with less than four minutes remaining in the countdown. Such holds and "scrubs," indicating a launch delay, are not uncommon in the industry.
The two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were aboard the Starliner capsule, are safe.
This is not the first time a launch attempt has been aborted. An earlier attempt in May was called off due to an issue detected with the rocket. ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, subsequently replaced the rocket's problematic valve.
Following the May cancellation, NASA and Boeing discovered a "small" helium leak in Starliner, prompting another series of assessments. After analysis, they concluded that the leak originated from the spacecraft's helium propulsion system. However, officials stated on May 24 that the leak is "stable" and "not a safety of flight issue."
Starliner's crew debut has been postponed for years, costing Boeing $1.5 billion in expenses and nearly $5 billion of NASA development funds due to ongoing setbacks.
Once considered a rival to SpaceX's Dragon capsule, Starliner has been relegated to a backup position for NASA due to various delays and setbacks. NASA even took the unusual step of reassigning astronauts off the first Boeing crew flights in 2021. Boeing is contracted to fly six operational Starliner missions to the ISS. The crew flight test that was scheduled for Saturday represents the final major step before it receives NASA certification to begin regular missions.
Astronauts Wilmore and Williams are still scheduled to fly on Starliner, with Wilmore serving as the spacecraft's commander and Williams as its pilot.
Starliner launches on ULA's Atlas V. The rocket, which debuted in 2002, marked its 100th launch with the Starliner crew flight test. The capsule is designed to carry up to four NASA astronauts per flight and more than 200 pounds of research and cargo. It lands using a parachute and airbag system and is reusable, with each capsule designed to fly as many as 10 missions.
Boeing's crew flight test aims to certify the Starliner system as capable of carrying NASA astronauts to and from the ISS. After Starliner launches, it will fly in space for about 25 hours before a planned docking with the International Space Station. The astronauts will then spend about a week on the ISS, focused on testing Starliner, before returning to Earth.
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