Washington, D.C. – The highly anticipated crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is facing yet another setback, as NASA has announced a delay of at least a week and a half to address a faulty valve in the Atlas 5 launch vehicle. The Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, originally scheduled for May 6, was postponed due to a malfunctioning valve in the rocket’s Centaur upper stage, with the new launch date set for no earlier than May 17 at 6:16 p.m. Eastern Time.
United Launch Alliance will be rolling the rocket back to its Vertical Integration Facility hangar near the pad to replace a liquid oxygen pressure regulation valve in the Centaur. The decision to replace the valve came after concerns that the vibration caused by the faulty valve could have potentially exceeded its rated life of 200,000 cycles, as it was vibrating at 40 hertz.
After a thorough evaluation of the valve’s history and data signatures, ULA determined that the valve had exceeded its qualification and needed to be replaced. This unexpected delay has pushed back the launch date beyond the previously projected timelines, with NASA estimating the next available opportunity for the launch to be around May 14 or 15.
Despite the setback, there are no immediate scheduling conflicts for the International Space Station where Starliner is set to dock. NASA intentionally cleared the summer schedule to allow ample time for the Crew Flight Test mission, ensuring that the two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, remain focused and prepared for the upcoming mission.
The delay underscores the complexities and challenges involved in space missions, highlighting the importance of rigorous testing and safety protocols to ensure the success of crewed missions. As the teams work diligently to address the technical issues, the anticipation for the historic launch continues to build, with space enthusiasts eagerly awaiting the next chapter in space exploration.