The Atlas V rocket of the United Launch Alliance, equipped with the spacecraft Starliner of Boeing, was positioned on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Space Force Station Cape Canaveral, Florida, ahead of Crew Flight Test by Boeing for NASA, scheduled for Friday, May 31, 2024. This test marks the first launch with astronauts using Boeing’s spacecraft and Atlas V rocket to International Space Stationin the context of Commercial Crew Program of the agency.
However, the launch scheduled for Saturday was canceled due to problems with the launch sequencer and theground support equipment. In particular, the launch sequencer failed to load into the correct operational configuration during the final count, preventing the necessary verification of redundancy of the system. As a result, the United Launch Alliance had to abort the launch attempt to understand the source of the problem.
NASA, Boeing and ULA have decided not to proceed with the next launch attempt, scheduled for Sunday, June 2 at 12:03 pm EDT, to allow for further evaluation of ground support equipment issues. The next available launch windows have been set for Wednesday 5 June and Thursday 6 June.
The United Launch Alliance team planned to examine ground support equipment overnight, and NASA said it will provide an update June 2 on next steps for the flight. The launch was supposed to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore And Suni Williams to and from the International Space Station.
