Boeing Starliner crewed mission postponed until at least Friday

Agencies | Cape Canaveral, United States

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spaceship will have to wait until at least Friday to give ground teams time to analyze a malfunctioning rocket valve, pushing back a high-stakes test trip to the International Space Station.

The mission has already faced years of delays and comes at a challenging time for Boeing, as a safety crisis engulfs the century-old aerospace titan's commercial aviation arm.

NASA is also banking on Starliner's success in order to achieve its goal of certifying a second commercial vehicle to carry crews to the orbital outpost.

Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams were strapped into their seats preparing for liftoff when the call for a “scrub” came, because engineers heard buzzing from a valve that regulates liquid oxygen pressure on the Atlas V rocket meant to propel Starliner into orbit.