Two NASA astronauts may have to wait ten days before blasting off aboard a rocket built in Decatur. NASA and Boeing say they’re are rolling the Atlas five carrying the new Starliner space capsule off the launch pad for repairs. A faulty valve prompted launch managers to cancel Monday night’s liftoff. The part will need to be replaced. Steve Stitch heads up NASA’s commercial launch effort. He spoke with reporters before the launch scrub. Stitch says NASA hired Boeing to build another way to get crew members to and from the International Space Station.
“You know, we've seen in the past the importance I think of having this dissimilar redundancy, it's always tough to fly into space,” said Stitch. “There's always challenges with every launch vehicle and spacecraft. And so for us having that sector transportation system is hugely important to us.”
United Launch Alliance built the Atlas-V rocket in Decatur. Boeing constructed the Starliner. Steve Stitch heads up NASA’s commercial launch effort. He spoke with the press before the launch scrub. Stitch says NASA’s working toward having another way to get astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
“Right now, the team is extremely focused on the crewed flight test, and doing all the final preparations for that mission," he said. "We are really excited to have this second transportation system up and available to us.”
The SpaceX company also flies ISS crew members on its rockets and capsule. The Atlas-V rocket launch cancellation is just the latest setback for NASA, Boeing, and the Starliner program. Unmanned test flights experienced problems including software glitches and concerns over the parachute harnesses that help cushion the capsule’s touchdown at the end of its mission.
The two NASA test pilots had just strapped into Boeing's Starliner capsule for a flight to the International Space Station when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned liftoff. United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said an oxygen pressure-relief valve on the upper stage of the company's Atlas rocket started fluttering open and close, creating a loud buzz. The valve may have exceeded its 200,000 lifetime cycles, Bruno said. He noted that similar valve trouble had occurred in years past on a few other Atlas rockets launching satellites. It was quickly resolved by turning the troublesome valves off and back on. But the company has stricter flight rules for astronaut flights, prohibiting valve recycling when a crew is on board.
