A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad illuminated by spotlights at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The flight test, which was targeted for launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance scrubbed the launch opportunity on Monday, May 6 for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station due to a faulty oxygen relief valve observation on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Centaur second stage.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams exited the Starliner spacecraft at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and will return to astronaut crew quarters.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on Sunday, May 5, 2024, ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s Boeing Crew 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 refers to a launch as “scrubbed,” it means that the planned launch of a spacecraft has been canceled, postponed, or delayed. This decision can be made for various reasons, including technical issues, mechanical failures, unfavorable weather conditions, or other safety concerns that arise before the spacecraft can be safely launched.
NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance hosted a news conference at 10:30 p.m. EDT to discuss Monday’s scrubbed launch attempt of the agency’s Crew Flight Test. (See video below.)
The following 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