In a significant setback for Boeing’s commercial crew program, the highly anticipated launch of the Starliner spacecraft, scheduled for May 7, 2024, was scrubbed due to an issue with an oxygen relief valve in the Atlas 5’s Centaur upper stage. The decision to delay the launch was made after the engineering team evaluated the vehicle and determined that it was not in a configuration suitable for flight.
The Atlas V rocket, manufactured by United Launch Alliance, has a proven track record with a 100% success rate since its first mission in 2002. This mission marks its inaugural flight with astronauts onboard, as the Starliner vehicle and crew were set to launch aboard the Atlas V rocket, which has advanced significantly since its early days as a long-range ballistic missile launch vehicle for the Army Air Force in 1946.