Technical problem thwarts Boeing’s first manned space mission

Boeing is postponing the launch of the first manned space mission with its Starliner capsule due to a technical problem with the launch vehicle. It is a new setback for the troubled aerospace company’s program.

The launch of Boeing’s first crewed Starliner capsule was postponed Tuesday morning due to a technical problem. The spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, was supposed to make its first manned flight to the International Space Station (ISS), but that was postponed two hours before launch.

United Launch Alliance (ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin) identified a problem with the capsule launch vehicle. The Atlas V was supposed to put the Starliner into orbit around the Earth, after the rocket had already successfully completed unmanned missions. But according to ULA, the valve that regulates fuel pressure was ‘buzzing’, something that had also been noticed during the unmanned missions. To avoid risking the crew, ULA postponed the launch.

Initially, ULA thought the problem could be resolved quickly, making a Wednesday launch possible. Ultimately, the joint venture reported that the launch will not happen until Friday at the earliest. It is not unusual for flights to be postponed at the last minute, especially when they are crewed for the first time.

The Starliner capsule would carry two astronauts. Barry Wilmore, 61, and Sunita Williams, 58, were in the rig for about an hour before ULA canceled the launch. They left the Starliner safely and returned to the Kennedy Space Center in the state of Florida.

The launch was of great importance for troubled Boeing. She had to show that the Starliner capsule is safe, so that regular space missions can follow. If so, the American space agency NASA can use the capsule as a second taxi to the ISS, in addition to SpaceX’s Dragon, which has been in use since 2020.

But the journey from the Boeing spacecraft to the ISS involves trial and error. In 2019, a test flight did not reach the space station because the capsule did not enter the correct orbit. That was due to technical and software problems. On another attempt in 2021, the launch was halted by blocked valves.

In May 2022, the Starliner managed to reach the ISS without a crew. A manned flight was supposed to take place that same year, but it was canceled due to a problem with the parachutes that slow down the capsule upon landing.

Due to the many delays and technical problems, Boeing exceeded NASA’s budget by more than $1.5 billion. It gave the astronauts more time to get used to the Starliner. “We are fully trained in all aspects of the capsule,” Williams and Wilmore said.

The technical problems and delays come on top of other problems at Boeing. Over the past decade, the company has fallen behind in technological innovations in space travel. Boeing did not match the major technological leaps made by SpaceX and other competitors. “Far too many managers are not engineers at Boeing,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday. Boeing will face questions about the long-term vision of its space operations, according to Susan Helms, the chairwoman of NASA’s Space Safety Advisory Panel.

The delayed launch of the Starliner capsule comes at a critical time for Boeing, which also builds planes. His 737 MAX aircraft in particular had problems. In 2018 and 2019, more than 150 people were killed each time when two planes crashed just after takeoff. A door panel also fell from an aircraft in January 2024 during an Alaska Air flight. The United States then grounded the aircraft for a while.

A successful space mission must demonstrate that Boeing can overcome the technical and quality challenges. Yet NASA is also concerned. ‘The lives of our crew members are at stake. We don’t take that lightly,” said associate administrator Jim Free. “The most important thing is to protect those two people and our crew on board the space station.”