Boeing delayed a key test flight of its Starliner astronaut capsule to the International Space Station two hours before liftoff on Tuesday.
Boeing delayed an uncrewed flight of its Starliner capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday over a propulsion issue, pushing back by at least a day a key test it last attempted in 2019. The spaceship had been due to launch on an United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida early in the afternoon. But just over two hours before lift-off, the company tweeted it was scrubbing the flight. A statement by NASA said the test was canceled not because of inclement weather but «due to unexpected valve position indications in the Starliner propulsion system.» The next available launch opportunity is at 12:57pm Eastern time (10:27pm IST) on Wednesday, pending resolution of the problem. «We’re disappointed with today’s outcome and the need to reschedule our Starliner launch,» said John Vollmer, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s commercial crew programme.
