Technical issues postpone the launch of Sunita Williams’ Boeing X NASA Starliner to the ISS – Firstpost

The long-awaited launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is facing an unexpected delay of at least 24 hours due to a technical problem with the Atlas V rocket.

The decision to postpone the flight came with less than two hours left in the countdown, forcing crew members Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore to remain in their seats for an hour before the postponement was formally announced.

Preparations for the launch were in full swing Monday evening at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starliner, which would be launched using a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, was the result of a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin and was ready for launch.

Why was the launch cancelled?
The delay was mainly due to a problem with a valve in the second stage of the Atlas rocket, which came to light during a live broadcast by NASA. The exact timetable for resolving the issue remains uncertain, but other possible launch windows are being considered as of now. In all likelihood, NASA will move the launch to Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, Eastern Time

After the cancellation, technicians helped Williams and Wilmore safely out of the capsule and escorted them back to the launch complex.

Such last-minute setbacks are often caused by minor glitches or abnormal sensor readings and are not uncommon during launches.

Despite the setback, the anticipation surrounding Starliner’s first manned flight remains at its peak.

What is the mission of Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore?
The planned mission for the Starliner is promising. With a combined 500 days of experience in space since their previous missions to the space station, both Williams and Wilmore were chosen to lead the first crewed flight of the Starliner. While Wilmore was the flight commander, Williams took on the role of pilot.

The journey to the ISS took 26 hours and would end with Williams docking the capsule with the International Space Station (ISS), approximately 400 km above Earth. Upon arrival, Williams and Wilmore would have joined the ISS’s permanent crew, which consists of four American astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts.

Their mission to the space station would last about a week, during which they would conduct various scientific experiments and perform some maintenance tasks crucial to the operation of the station. In particular, the return trip would highlight an innovative landing system that used parachutes and airbags for a landing in the American Southwest desert. This was the first application of such a system in manned NASA missions.

The success of Boeing’s flight test would have paved the way for Starliner to undertake a series of crewed missions to the space station for NASA. The outcome of this first journey is of enormous significance and could largely determine the trajectory of future missions in space exploration.

(With input from agencies)

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