A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is visible on the launch pad under spotlights at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The flight test, which was supposed to happen at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, demonstrates Boeing’s crew transportation system and will transport NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
On Monday, May 6, NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance had to cancel the launch of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station because of a problem with an oxygen relief valve on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Centaur second stage.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams left the Starliner spacecraft at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and will go back to astronaut crew quarters.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, is on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on Sunday, May 5, 2024, ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This flight test is the first launch with astronauts of the Boeing CFT-100 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
In the context of spaceflight, when NASA says a launch is “scrubbed,” it means that the planned launch of a spacecraft has been called off, postponed, or delayed. This decision can be made for various reasons, including technical issues, mechanical failures, unfavorable weather conditions, or other safety concerns that come up before the spacecraft can be launched safely.
At 10:30 p.m. EDT, NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance held a news conference to discuss Monday’s canceled launch attempt of the agency’s Crew Flight Test. (See video below.)
The following people participated in the news conference:
- Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station Program at NASA
- Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
- Tory Bruno, president and CEO, United Launch Alliance
