Boeing Starliner crewed launch scrubbed hours before scheduled liftoff

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The launch of Boeing’s Starliner to the International Space Station was scrubbed on Monday night, hours before the scheduled liftoff.

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According to the United Launch Alliance, a problem with an oxygen valve caused the cancellation of the flight, WFTV reported.

The spacecraft, with two astronauts, had been scheduled to lift off from an Atlas V rocket at 10:34 p.m. from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida’s Space Coast, according to The New York Times.

Starliner, built by Boeing to rival SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, was marking its first attempt at a crewed mission of the new spacecraft.

“We say that the rocket business is a business of 10 million details -- and only when 10 million details are correct (does) your rocket fly,” Dillon Rice, a United Launch Alliance commentator, said during a webcast, according to CNN.

Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams were scheduled to pilot the Starliner during the flight, which is the final test before NASA can allow Boeing to regularly fly to the ISS, WFLA-TV reported. Both astronauts have been to space on two previous journeys aboard NASA space shuttle and Russian Soyuz missions, according to CNN.

In a news conference, Boeing, NASA, and ULA officials said the Starliner would take several days to repair, WFTV reported.

In a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Standing down on tonight’s attempt to launch #Starliner. As I’ve said before, @NASA’s first priority is safety. We go when we’re ready.”

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