Boeing's attempt to put two astronauts into orbit has been scrapped. At 8:33 pm EDT, the launch of the Starliner spacecraft was called off due to engineering problems with the oxygen release valve of the Centaur second stage of the Atlas V rocket.
Originally scheduled for 10:34:14 pm EDT, the decision to abort the launch of Starliner was made after NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams were already aboard. As soon as the news came down, technicians began the procedure to remove the astronauts and to drain the cryogenic fuel from the United Launch Alliance rocket.
Though such launch aborts are routine occurrences, regardless of circumstances, this is a major embarrassment for Boeing, the builder and operator of Starliner.
Today's launch was for an "instantaneous window," so even a fraction of a second delay would have resulted in a scrub. However, Boeing had a lot riding on the success of Starliner. Not only has the spacecraft suffered from a long string of delays, cost overruns, launch mishaps, and malfunctions that have set back the project for years, but the company itself has been faced with airliner crashes, parts falling off aircraft in flight, the death of two whistle blowers, dismissal of the CEO, and loss of stock value that has put the very future of the company in the hazard.
As if adding insult to injury, on the very day of the launch, Boeing is facing an FAA investigation into allegations of employees falsifying inspection records.
No word has been released yet as to when the launch has been rescheduled.
Source: NASA
