Just when we thought we'd witness history, Boeing's Starliner mission hit the brakes—literally minutes before liftoff! 😱
On what was supposed to be a milestone Saturday, NASA and Boeing had to scrub the highly anticipated first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft was sitting pretty atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, ready to launch at 12:25 p.m. Eastern Time (1625 GMT) from Florida's iconic Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
But in a dramatic twist, the ULA launch team called a hold about 3 minutes and 50 seconds before the scheduled launch time. Talk about a cliffhanger! 😬
\"Due to an automatic hold of the ground launch sequencer, the teams have scrubbed the launch attempt,\" NASA announced. Translation: something in the system said \"nope, not today.\"
So when's the next launch window? 🚀 That's still a mystery, as NASA hasn't announced a new date yet. Fingers crossed it won't be a long wait!
This test flight is a big deal. It's set to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS for about a week. The mission aims to put the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems through their paces. If all goes well, NASA will certify the Starliner for regular trips to the ISS as part of its Commercial Crew Program. Pretty cool, right?
This isn't the first time the Starliner has had to hit pause. The spacecraft was previously scheduled to launch on May 6, but technical issues led to that attempt being scrubbed too.
Stay tuned for updates, space fans! 🌌 We'll be watching the skies and keeping you posted on when this star-bound journey finally takes off.
Reference(s):
Boeing scrubs Starliner's first crewed mission minutes before liftoff
cgtn.com
