Sunita Williams' Third Space Travel Scrubbed; NASA Announces New Date For Starliner Launch

Boeing's most anticipated Starliner mission which was supposed to take Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams to the International Space Station has been postponed. According to a recent post by NASA, the mission has been postponed due  a faulty oxygen relief valve on the second stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The spacecraft was set to launch for the first time with crew Sunita Williams and Butch.

Notably, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft was scheduled to depart at 10:34 pm local time on May 6 (8:04 am on May 7 international time) from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The launch would have marked the first crewed test flight of the Starliner. 

NASA's post on X platform(formerly Twitter) said, "Today's Starliner launch is scrubbed as teams evaluate an oxygen relief valve on the Centaur Stage on the Atlas V. Our astronauts have exited Starliner and will return to crew quarters." 
The mission is now targeted no earlier than Friday, May 10. According to a NASA blog, "NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) are targeting no earlier than Friday, May 10, for the launch of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station, pending resolution of the technical issue that prevented the May 6 launch attempt."

Today's #Starliner launch is scrubbed as teams evaluate an oxygen relief valve on the Centaur Stage on the Atlas V. Our astronauts have exited Starliner and will return to crew quarters. For updates, watch our live coverage: https://t.co/plfuHQtv4l — NASA (@NASA) May 7, 2024

After its space launch, the Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to transport its inaugural astronaut crew to the International Space Station. The crew includes Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams, both experienced U.S. Navy test pilots and veteran astronauts who have spent significant time aboard the International Space Station in previous missions. This upcoming Starliner mission is anticipated to last approximately a week at the orbiting space station.