The launch attempt was called off roughly two hours ahead of the planned liftoff.

NASA and Boeing were forced to stand down from an attempted launch to the International Space Station on Monday because of a last-minute issue that cropped up with a valve on the spacecraft’s rocket.

Boeing’s Starliner capsule had been scheduled to lift off at 10:34 p.m. ET from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on its first crewed test flight. NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams were on board the capsule and strapped into their seats when the launch attempt was called off, roughly two hours ahead of the planned liftoff.

A new launch date has not yet been announced.

Mission controllers declared a launch “scrub” after an anomaly was detected on an oxygen valve on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, which the Starliner capsule was to ride into orbit.

    • ladicius@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      If they build without doors at all? Simply weld in the crew with enough food. Why get out of the vessel? Space is deadly anyway.

    • stembolts@programming.dev
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      6 months ago

      It’s not that hard. I seen the Flintstones, just have the space people put their feet out the bottom and wiggle em real fast.

      Why am I not in charge of space launches? Probably people are afraid of my intellect, and massive dong.

      (copium)

      • Zier@fedia.io
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        6 months ago

        I’m gonna need pictures of the massive dong incident before deciding if I’m scared or not.

        • stembolts@programming.dev
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          6 months ago

          It’s umm, a quantum dong. Very rare, it appears very small in photographs but when not observed it is the size of Mount Fuji. Woe is me! To have the dong of the century but cursed to never show it.

          Fear the quantum dong!!

          • Zier@fedia.io
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            6 months ago

            So it must be viewed with a blindfold and a pair of hands? So far, semi scared!

  • bmsok@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Good on NASA for scrubbing the launch to keep both the astronauts and the launch team safe. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

    • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Turns out, if your contractor kills enough people with their slapdash products, even go fever has its limits.

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      6 months ago

      No it’s not. They could have learned a ton from this probably fatal experiment

          • frezik@midwest.social
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            6 months ago

            OK, but SpaceX doesn’t launch those tests with people on board. Musk might be that dumb, but SpaceX has a whole management structure for dealing with his bullshit and stopping his worst ideas.

          • bmsok@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            But not today, thankfully. Thats what makes every scrubbed launch a success.

            Challenger and Colombia were particularly horrific because people warned that there were issues and were still given the green light for launch and reentry, respectively.

            You can’t do this stuff without making some mistakes and learning from them. But everyone did their job well this evening to ensure everyone’s safety.

            • BigFig@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              Yeah not sure why I’m getting down votes. It’s a fact, people have died and it was due to lax adherence to those safety standards. Today’s launch scrub is exactly what should happen every time. A single tiny thing out of place should be a scrub. These are people’s lives on the line.

              • bmsok@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

                I misinterpreted where you were coming from with your comment. My apologies. I think we’re on the same page. Safety first.

      • NightAuthor@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Seems like this comment has a pretty solid coat of sarcasm. But at least 24 colorblind people can’t tell.

        • No_Eponym@lemmy.ca
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          6 months ago

          “Product management was never my strong suit.” Bud Askins, Senior Junior Vice President of Vault-Tec Boeing, maybe.

        • mercano@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Boeing’s share in the company came from the Delta rocket though, which was retired last month. (FWIW, Delta was originally a Douglas design, going back to the late 50’s, but Boeing got it through mergers.)

        • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Boeing deserves the scorn, but if it was a joint project with Lockheed it’s probably fine, they’re evil to be sure but they don’t fuck around

          • Blackout@kbin.run
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            6 months ago

            Yeah Lockheed always gets the job done right. Usually a decade late and a trillion dollars over budget but the job gets done!

        • Zipitydew@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          Sure but the rocket being used is Atlas V which is from the Lockheed half of the partnership.

          Delta series is what Boeing brought to the ULA partnership. Which they acquired from buying out McDonnell Douglas.

          Boeing didn’t design either rocket ULA has flown.

          • CameronDev@programming.dev
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            6 months ago

            My impression, and correct me if I am wrong, is that Boeings issues are largely management/culture driven (this may just be the plane side of the business though). The Atlas 5 this is being launched on may have been designed by LM, but it was still built under the same management/culture.

            But either way, the Atlas 5 is a very reliable rocket, so the scorn isnt really that deserved.

            • Zipitydew@sh.itjust.works
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              6 months ago

              Boeing issues are plane side of the business for sure.

              From little I’m aware, part of why Boeing sought a partnership with Lockheed is because they weren’t sure what to do with the aerospace pieces of McDonell Douglas and Rockwell they acquired in the late 90’s. Meaning most of the “Boeing” contribution to ULA came from other companies already serving NASA for decades. Mainly with the Delta rockets.

              None of that was core Boeing business. Which is why ULA has been run by Lockheed people the whole time it has existed. Current ULA CEO Tory Bruno was an engineer at Lockheed for a long time before working his way up to where he’s at now. Something like 30 years in the industry.

  • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I’ve been saying this for years now. Boeing is going to kill NASA astronauts if they are allowed to get their way.

  • mr_robot@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    As much as I’d love to pile on Boeing, the article states the launch was scrubbed due to an issue with ULA’s rocket not the Boeing capsule payload.

    • derf82@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed, however.

      But, again, Boeing spacecraft is a very separate division than commercial aircraft.

    • asmoranomar@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      And even if it was, it would be the right move. The last thing we want is to stop risk management because there’s only 2 hours left and the door hasn’t fallen off so far.

    • littleblue✨@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Yeah, apparently Sony was getting pissy that the astronauts were about to leave the planet without logging into their PSN accounts first. 🤷🏼‍♂️

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Hopefully they don’t forget to report when Max Q happens… It’s very important to explain what it is. SECO and MECO and the number 7 are also getting up there in importance for space flight.

      • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Yes Bob, indeed, for those of you watching at home, Max Q is the name of the guy sitting at the top of the rocket holding the antenna trying to guide the…no wait, it’s when the vehicle is going through the maximum aerodynamic pressure state. That’s right! It’s Rick, Rick Peterman holding up the antenna this morning. Back to you guys in the studio!