A last-minute problem interrupted the countdown for a Boeing Starline crewed test flight to the International Space Station on Saturday.
Two NASA astronauts sitting in the capsule of the company's first crewed flight were waiting for launch when the countdown stopped with three minutes and 50 seconds remaining.
Since there was not much time to solve this problem, the trip was cancelled.
Technicians rushed to the platform to help astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams exit the capsule aboard an Atlas V rocket loaded with fuel at the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. Less than an hour after the launch was cancelled, the hatch was reopened.
Tory Bruno, president and CEO of rocket maker United Launch Alliance, said the team cannot access computers to fix the problem until the rocket is emptied of all its fuel.
Mr. Bruno explained that one of the three computers located near the missile on the pad was slow. All three have to work properly to get going, he said.
Depending on the problem to be solved, the next launch attempt could not be made until Wednesday. If this is not possible, it will be necessary to wait until mid-June, when the rocket will have to be removed from the launch pad to replace its batteries.
“This is the business we're in,” Boeing's Mark Nappi said. Everything should work perfectly.”
This was the second launch attempt. The first test, on May 6, was postponed due to leakage checks and missile repairs.
NASA wants reinforcements at SpaceX, which has been transporting astronauts since 2020.
Boeing was supposed to launch its first crew around the same time as SpaceX, but its first test flight without anyone on board in 2019 was plagued by serious software problems and never reached the space station.
The new mission in 2022 went better, but parachute problems and flammability led to further delays. A small helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system last month added to the rocket's valve problem.
The problems with the valves are available for several days before the collage is the same, but the equipment uses a secure circuit to perform the function of the valves in the equipment at the end of the carburetor plane for the superior design. The missile. Launch controllers were relieved to keep moving forward, but a computer system known as the Ground Launch Sequencer ended the effort.
“Of course, it's emotionally disappointing,” NASA astronaut Mike Finke, backup pilot, said from Kennedy Space Center shortly after the countdown stopped.
But he said delays are part of spaceflight. “We will have a big launch in our future.”
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