NASA has postponed the first manned test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft just two hours before the scheduled launch due to a recently discovered security problem. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced that the new launch date will be organized at the earliest on Friday, as reported by AFP news agency.
Boeing’s Starliner has faced delays in production, with the first unmanned test flight experiencing software errors that prevented it from reaching the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019. In 2021, blocked valves led to the postponement of a launch. The craft finally reached the ISS in May 2022 with an unmanned launch, but additional problems arose that caused delays to the test flight.
NASA is hoping for a successful Starliner test flight in order to have another spacecraft available to transport astronauts to the ISS. When the Starliner is fully operational, NASA hopes to use it to transport astronauts to the ISS in conjunction with SpaceX’s Dragon ship. This will provide more options for manned flights to the ISS, reducing the reliance on Russian rockets that NASA has had for almost a decade.
Safety is NASA’s top priority and they will only launch when they are fully prepared. The delay in this mission highlights how important it is for them to ensure that all systems are working properly before any manned mission takes place.