Boeing Starliner CST-100 launch delayed again due to oxygen safety valve issue

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner, operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), was originally scheduled to launch at 10:34 pm Eastern Time on May 6 (domestic time this morning) after holding a departure ceremony. However, after the launch In the first two hours, ULA discovered a problem with the oxygen safety valve, so it has decided to cancel the launch and conduct inspections.

The Boeing Interstellar Line is a series of interstellar passenger aircraft commissioned by NASA to be developed by Boeing. Its main purpose is to transport astronauts or other passengers to the International Space Station or some private space stations. The Interstellar Line can carry up to 7 people at a time and has a maximum in-orbit time of 7 months, can be reused up to 10 times.

In December 2019, the Interstellar Line conducted a test flight. At that time, it deviated from the course due to a timer error that caused excessive propellant burning. The mission to the International Space Station eventually had to be terminated and return to Earth early.

After various problems and delays, Boeing postponed the manned flight test of the Star Route to July 2023. As a result, in June 2023, Boeing discovered problems with the parachute system and wiring harness and postponed the manned flight test indefinitely.

This planned manned flight test is a continuation of the previous one. Two NASA astronauts planned to take this flight to the International Space Station. However, after ULA found an abnormal problem and terminated the launch, the two astronauts have disembarked and are waiting for follow-up plans.

Since there is a window period for launch, even if the oxygen safety valve problem is solved in a short period of time, the interstellar route cannot be relaunched immediately in a short period of time. It may be necessary to reselect the launch window after comprehensively considering factors such as earth weather and space weather.

At the time of publication of this article, United Launch Alliance has announced new news. After assisting the astronauts to leave the interstellar route, it arranged for the opposite team to clean the launch pad, then re-fix the ATLAS V rocket and unload the fuel.