NASA reschedules Boeing’s Starliner launch for later this week

NASA has rescheduled the launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft after passing on a potential Sunday launch window. The agency cited the need to assess an issue with ground support equipment, which caused the postponement of Saturday’s launch, in a Sunday blog post.

The next available launch opportunities are set for Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6.

NASA disclosed on X, the social network previously known as Twitter, that the launch attempt was halted “due to the computer ground launch sequencer not loading into the correct operational configuration after proceeding into terminal count.”

The launch was scrubbed approximately 4 minutes before liftoff. This delay adds to a series of setbacks, including technical issues, an oxygen leak, and a helium leak from the capsule’s propulsion system, which also halted a May 6 launch attempt.

The mission for Boeing’s Starliner, known as the Boeing Crew Flight Test, aims to transport two NASA astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, both former Navy pilots, to and from the International Space Station. Once aboard the ISS, Wilmore and Williams will conduct tests on the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems during their approximately one-week stay.

The Starliner capsule is designed to accommodate a crew of up to seven for missions to low-Earth orbit. For NASA missions, it will carry four astronauts along with cargo and scientific instruments to and from the space station.

Success with the Starliner will initiate the final certification process for crewed rotation missions to the space station, as per NASA. Boeing was awarded $4.8 billion from NASA in 2014 to develop the Starliner, part of NASA’s commercial crew program.

SpaceX, another contender in the commercial crew program, received $3.1 billion from NASA to develop its spacecraft. Additionally, NASA has allocated $2.9 billion to SpaceX for the development of the first commercial human lander for the Artemis moon missions and future missions to Mars.