A Boeing rocket fails moments before launch

US News

Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A last-minute computer problem ended Saturday’s attempt to launch Boeing’s first flight with astronauts, the latest in a string of delays over the years.

Two NASA astronauts were strapped into the Starliner capsule when the countdown was automatically stopped at 3 minutes and 50 seconds by the computer system that manages the final minutes before launch.

It only took off for a fraction of a second, there was no time to deal with the latest problem, and the launch was called off.

Technicians rushed to the pad to help astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams out of the capsule atop a fully loaded Atlas V rocket at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Within an hour of the aborted launch, the hatch was reopened.

The team can’t get to the computers to fix the problem until all of the rocket’s fuel is used up, said Tory Bruno, CEO of rocket maker United Launch Alliance.

Bruno said that one of the three redundant computers located near the rocket on the pad was slow. All three must function properly to proceed with the launch, he said.

Depending on what needs to be fixed, the next launch attempt could be as early as Wednesday. If it doesn’t launch this coming week, it will take until mid-June to move the rocket off the pad and replace the batteries.

“This is the business we’re in,” Boeing’s Mark Nappi said. “Everything has to work perfectly.

It was the second attempt to start. The first attempt on May 6 was delayed due to leak checks and repairs to the rocket.

NASA wants a backup for SpaceX, which will fly astronauts from 2020.

Boeing was supposed to launch its first crew around the same time as SpaceX, but its first unmanned test flight in 2019 was plagued by serious software problems and never made it to the space station.

A repair in 2022 went better, but problems with the parachute and flammability later caused further delays. A small helium leak in the capsule’s propulsion system last month led to a rocket valve problem.

More valve problems occurred two hours before Saturday’s scheduled launch, but the team used a backup circuit to keep ground equipment valves working to refuel the rocket’s upper stage.

The launch controllers were relieved to continue forward, but a computer system known as the Ground Launch Sequencer terminated the effort.

“Obviously, it’s an emotional disappointment,” NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, a backup pilot, said from the nearby Kennedy Space Center shortly after the countdown was halted.

But he said delays are part of spaceflight. “We’re off to a great start in our future.”

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