Washington DC:

US space agency NASA on Thursday announced that the first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, piloted by Indian-origin Sunita Williams to the International Space Station (ISS), is now being targeted for June 1.

Mission managers from NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) continue to evaluate a path forward toward launching the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station (ISS), the space agency said in a statement.

The teams are now working towards a launch opportunity at 12:25 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1, with additional opportunities on June 2, June 5, and June 6.

A helium leak on the Starliner’s service module had delayed the spacecraft’s first mission to space carrying humans, which was initially planned for May 7 but was pushed back with successive delays.

Boeing’s Staliner spacecraft is designed to take Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and fellow NASA astronaut Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore to the international Space Station as part of a final test before the US space agency can certify the Starliner for routine missions to and from the ISS.

The Starliner spacecraft will be catapulted into space on a Atlas 5 rocket of the rocket company United Launch Alliance (ULA) from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The duo will remain docked at the orbiting laboratory for about two weeks to evaluate the new spacecraft and its systems before returning to Earth in the Western United States.

“There has been a great deal of exceptional analysis and testing over the last two weeks by the joint NASA, Boeing, and ULA teams to replace the Centaur Self Regulating Valve and troubleshoot the Starliner Service Module helium manifold leak,” said Steve Stich, manager of the NASA Commercial Crew Program.

“It has been important that we take our time to understand all the complexities of each issue including the redundant capabilities of the Starliner propulsion system and any implications to our Interim Human Rating Certification, he said in a statement issued by the US space agency.

“We will launch Butch and Suni on this test mission after the entire community has reviewed the teams’ progress and flight rationale at the upcoming Delta Agency Flight Test Readiness Review,” he said.

Both Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore continue practicing in Starliner simulators and the crew that remains quarantined will fly back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida closer to the new launch date, the space agency said.

Mission managers of the Boeing Starliner’s Crewed Test Flight (CFT) called off the mission on May 7, just two hours before the scheduled launch due to a valve glitch in the Atlas 5 rocket’s upper stage. Boeing said in its statement that the valve was successfully replaced on May 11 and tested to confirm it was working properly.

Later on May 14, NASA announced that the CFT mission scheduled for May 17 has been pushed to no later than May 21 due to what it described as a “small helium leak” in the spacecraft’s service module.

On May 17 the space agency said that the launch was further pushed back to May 25.

The flight marking Boeing’s first Starliner spacecraft mission with a human crew, is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with the US aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from US soil.

NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in September 2014 to transport crew to the International Space Station from the United States. These integrated spacecraft, rockets and associated systems will carry up to four astronauts on NASA missions, maintaining a space station crew of seven to maximize time dedicated to scientific research on the orbiting laboratory.

After a failed attempt in December 2019, Boeing conducted a successful uncrewed Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) in 2022. Its Starliner is expected to be reusable for up to ten missions within a six-month turnaround time, according to the aerospace company.

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX company’s Crew Dragon has performed 12 crewed missions since its first launch on May 30, 2020.

Boeing received over USD 4 billion in US federal funds to develop the Starliner, while SpaceX received about USD 2.6 billion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams gets ready to board the Boeing’s Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket for a mission to the International Space Station at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, on May 6, 2024. The launch was called off.
| Photo Credit: AP

The target date for the next attempt to launch Boeing Co’s Starliner space capsule on its first crewed test flight featuring Indian-American Sunita Williams has been pushed back to no earlier than May 17, to replace a pressure valve on its booster rocket, NASA said on Tuesday.

The CST-100 Starliner’s debut voyage carrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) has been highly anticipated and much-delayed as Boeing scrambles to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a greater share of lucrative NASA business.

The test flight was called off on Monday night with less than two hours left in the countdown after a pressure regulation valve malfunctioned on the upper-stage liquid oxygen tank of the Atlas V rocket that was to launch the new capsule into orbit.

The two-member crew — NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore, 61, and Sunita Williams, 58 — had been strapped into their seats aboard the spacecraft for about an hour before launch activities were suspended.

The rocket, a separate component from the Starliner capsule, was furnished for the mission by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture.

After Monday night’s aborted launch attempt, NASA, Boeing and ULA announced that they would seek to try again as early as Friday, May 10.

But in an update posted Tuesday evening, NASA said more time was needed after ULA “decided to remove and replace” the faulty pressure valve. That will require the rocket to be rolled back to its hangar on Wednesday for repairs, leak checks and other reviews ahead of a second launch attempt, NASA said.

Those operations pushed the potential launch date back another week, NASA said.

The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical glitch with the Atlas V rocket that was being readied to launch the new astronaut capsule to orbit on Monday night.

The CST-100 Starliner’s inaugural voyage carrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) has been highly anticipated and much-delayed as Boeing scrambles to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a greater share of lucrative NASA business.

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It comes two years after the gumdrop-shaped capsule completed its first test flight to the orbital laboratory without humans aboard. The Starliner’s first uncrewed flight to the ISS in 2019 ended in failure.

Its latest flight was scrubbed with less than two hours left in the countdown as the capsule stood poised for blastoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop an Atlas V rocket furnished by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture.

The postponement, attributed to an issue with a valve in the Atlas rocket’s second stage, was announced during a live NASA webcast.

It was not immediately clear how long the issue would take to address, but the next available launch windows for the mission are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

The two-member crew — NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore, 61, and Sunita Williams, 58 — had been strapped into their seats aboard the spacecraft for about an hour before launch activities were suspended.

They were subsequently assisted safely out of the capsule by technicians and whisked away from the launch complex in a van to await a second flight attempt once the issue has been resolved.

It is not uncommon in the space industry for countdowns to be halted at the 11th hour and for launches to be postponed for days or weeks, even when seemingly minor malfunctions or unusual sensor readings are detected, especially in new spacecraft flying humans for the first time.

Boeing faces intense public scrutiny of all its activities after its commercial airplane operations have been staggered by several crises, including the mid-air blowout of a plane door plug in January. The company has been eager to get its Starliner space venture off the ground to show signs of success and redeem a program years behind schedule with more than $1.5 billion in cost overruns.

While Boeing has struggled, SpaceX has become a dependable taxi to orbit for NASA, which is backing a new generation of privately built spacecraft that can ferry its astronauts and other customers to the ISS and, under the space agency’s more ambitious Artemis program, to the moon and eventually Mars.

Though Boeing has been relatively mute about its plans to sell commercial Starliner flights, the spacecraft would compete head-to-head with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, which since 2020 has been NASA’s only vehicle for sending ISS crew to orbit from U.S. soil.

Seasoned test flight crew

Selected to ride aboard Starliner for its first crewed flight were two NASA veterans who have logged a combined 500 days in space over the course of two previous missions each to the space station. Mr. Wilmore is the designated commander for Monday’s flight, with Ms. Williams in the pilot seat.

Although Starliner is designed to fly autonomously, the astronauts can assume control of the spacecraft if necessary. The test flight calls for Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams to practice maneuvering the vehicle manually while en route to the ISS.

Ironically, the flight would mark the first crewed voyage to space using an Atlas rocket since the storied series of launch vehicles first sent astronauts, including John Glenn, on orbital flights for NASA’s Mercury program in the 1960s.

Once launched, the capsule will arrive at the space station after a flight of about 26 hours and dock with the orbiting research outpost some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth. A resident ISS crew, currently comprising four U.S. astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts, will be there to greet them.

Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams are expected to remain at the space station for about a week before riding the Starliner back to Earth for a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the U.S. Desert Southwest – the first time such a system has been used for crewed NASA missions.

The test flight comes at an especially critical moment for Boeing. Its airplane business is dealing with fallout from a midair blowout of a cabin panel door plug on a nearly new 737 MAX 9 in January, as well as previous deadly crashes of two 737 MAX jets.

Getting Starliner to this point has been a fraught process for Boeing, beset by years of development setbacks and more than $1.5 billion in charges for the aerospace giant on a $4.2 billion fixed-priced contract with NASA.

The space agency wants the redundancy of having two different U.S. rides to the ISS, which is expected to retire around 2030. NASA is encouraging private development of new space stations that could replace the ISS after its retirement, potentially giving Starliner new destinations.

Depending on the outcome of the forthcoming flight test, Starliner is booked to fly at least six more crewed missions to the space station for NASA.

The launch of the Boeing Starliner, which was set to take astronaut Sunita Williams to space for a third time, has been postponed due to a technical glitch. No new date has been announced for the launch.

Ms Williams, poster girl for women aspiring to fly into space, was set to reach for the skies again today in a brand-new spacecraft. The Boeing Starliner was set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida’s Cape Canaveral at 8.04 am India time.

However, just 90 minutes before the lift-off, the launch of the Atlas V rocket was called off. US space agency NASA has announced there was an off-nominal condition on an oxygen relief valve, which led to the postponement. Ms Williams and NASA’s Barry Wilmore, who were to fly the Starliner to the International Space Station, have safely exited the spacecraft. 

This would have been the third space travel for the Indian-origin astronaut, who has already spent 322 days in space and held a record for the maximum hours of spacewalk by a woman, before being overtaken by Peggy Whitson.

This time, she would have made history as the first woman to fly on a maiden crewed mission of a new space shuttle.

Ms Williams went on her first space voyage on December 9, 2006, which lasted till June 22, 2007. While onboard, she established a world record for women by going on four spacewalks that added up to 29 hours and 17 minutes.

Her second voyage was from July 14 to November 18, 2012.

The 59-year-old admitted to being a bit nervous but said she had no jitters about flying in a new spacecraft. She had helped design the Starliner, working with engineers from NASA and Boeing. “When I reach the International Space Station, it will be like going back home,” she said.

Ahead of the flight, she had told NDTV that she intended to carry an idol of Lord Ganesh on this journey, since he is her “good luck charm”. Earlier, she had carried a copy of the Bhagwad Gita. An enthusiastic marathoner, she had even completed a triathlon in space, competing with athletes back in the US.

The 10-day mission will help the Starliner prove its space-worthiness. It would also prove the team’s readiness to achieve NASA certification and fly long-duration missions for the US space agency.

Sunita L. Williams, a distinguished NASA astronaut, is currently training to be the pilot of the Crew Flight Test mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. This is the first crewed flight for that vehicle and her third mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

In a statement, the American space agency said, “NASA will host two media opportunities on Thursday, April 25, in preparation for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. The mission is targeting launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.”

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will lift off aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and dock at the orbiting laboratory, where they will stay for about a week, the statement read.

The mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft as a part of the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program and will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth. 

Sunita Williams’ Spaceflight Experience

Sunita Williams’s spaceflight experience began with Expedition 14/15 from December 9, 2006, to June 22, 2007. She launched with the crew of STS-116 and served as Flight Engineer. She established a record for females with four spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes. She concluded her tour and returned to Earth with the STS-117 crew in June 2007.

Her second spaceflight, Expedition 32/33 from July 14 to November 18, 2012. She launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, along with Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, on July 14, 2012. She spent four months conducting research and exploration aboard the orbiting laboratory. Ms Williams once again held the record for total cumulative spacewalk time with a time of 50 hours and 40 minutes.

During these missions, she conducted research, performed spacewalks, and contributed significantly to the exploration of space.

Awards and Honours

Among her many awards and honours, Ms Williams, a retired US Navy Captain, has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal twice, the Legion of Merit, the Navy Commendation Medal twice, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal, among others.

Currently, Ms Williams is training to be the pilot of the Crew Flight Test mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, marking her third mission aboard the International Space Station.