takeoff of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft postponed

A new takeoff attempt could theoretically take place on Tuesday, as well as Friday and Saturday, but no new date was immediately announced.

Failed start. The takeoff of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which was to transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time, was canceled Monday, May 6, approximately two hours before the scheduled launch time, due to a technical problem . An anomaly was identified on a valve of the Atlas V rocket which was to propel the capsule into orbit.

A new takeoff attempt could theoretically take place on Tuesday, as well as Friday and Saturday, but no new date was immediately announced. Boeing is playing big on this final test mission, which should allow it to join the very private club of spaceships that have transported human beings. For NASA, the stakes are also high: having a second vehicle in addition to that of SpaceX to transport American astronauts.

A delay on SpaceX

Only a handful of American ships have carried astronauts in the past. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule joined this list in 2020, succeeding the legendary Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs. After the latter stopped in 2011, NASA astronauts had to travel aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

It is to put an end to this dependence that in 2014, the American space agency signed a contract worth 4.2 billion with Boeing and 2.6 billion with SpaceX for the development of new vessels. Despite this difference in funding, “SpaceX finished 4 years early” its competitor, did not fail to recall on Monday the boss of the former start-up, Elon Musk. “Far too many managers are not technicians at Boeing”he tackled.

Once Starliner is operational, NASA wants to alternate between SpaceX and Boeing flights to transport its astronauts to the ISS. After the ISS is retired in 2030, the two ships could be used to transport humans to future private space stations, which several American companies are already planning to build.