Starliner launch aborted due to computer glitch; new attempt set for Wednesday

The launch of the Starliner crewed spaceship was cancelled a few minutes before the scheduled time. This decision was due to a failure in the computer system responsible for launching the carrier rocket.

Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, were already strapped inside the ship's capsule when the countdown was automatically halted at 3 minutes and 50 seconds before launch. As only a few minutes remained until the flight was scheduled for Saturday, technicians could not swiftly resolve the issue, and the launch was cancelled. The crew capsule was opened within an hour, and the astronauts exited.

Tory Bruno, the CEO of United Launch Alliance, the manufacturer of the Atlas V carrier rocket used in the Starliner, said that the cause of the launch cancellation was a problem with one of the three computers on the landing site operating too slowly. Bruno noted that all three computers must function adequately to proceed with the launch.

NASA announced that another launch attempt could occur on Wednesday if the issue can be fixed quickly enough. The mission aims to reach the International Space Station (ISS).

This is the second unsuccessful launch attempt; the first one occurred on May 6. At that time, the oxygen valve of the carrier rocket failed.

The first Starliner launch in 2019, still uncrewed, also failed because the capsule entered the wrong orbit and did not reach the ISS; the flight had to be repeated. Subsequently, a series of other technical issues were detected.

NASA commissioned private companies, Boeing and Elon Musk's SpaceX, to develop and manufacture a vehicle for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS. SpaceX's Dragon ships have successfully conducted orbital flights since 2020.