An issue with the relief valve on the upper stage of the Atlas rocket prompted the decision about two hours before the scheduled launch from Cape Canaveral.
NASA, Boeing and ULA are targeting another launch attempt no earlier than May 10 pending resolution of the technical issue that prevented Monday's launch of the Crew Flight Test. [Courtesy: NASA]
Key Takeaways:
NASA scrubbed the first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner capsule due to a relief valve issue on the upper stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas rocket.
The decision to scrub, made about two hours before the scheduled launch with astronauts already strapped in, prioritized crew safety over taking any risks with unfamiliar data.
This incident adds to a series of technical issues faced by the Starliner program, though this particular problem was with the launch vehicle itself, not the capsule.
Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.
