NASA and Boeing have once again decided to postpone the long-awaited launch of the Starliner spacecraft, apparently proving that when it comes to sending people into orbit, it is better to wait and check your math twice than it is to launch and hope for the best.
The latest delay, announced with the weary optimism of people who have seen this coming for several weeks, pushes the liftoff of Starliner’s first crewed flight from May 6 to sometime no earlier than May 17. The culprit this time is a faulty oxygen relief valve on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, a small but important item responsible for making sure things do not go boom when they are not supposed to.
Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams, both seasoned veterans of space missions and presumably very patient individuals, will now have to spend a bit more quality time on Earth as engineers work tirelessly to ensure everything works exactly as it should for a vehicle flying at 17,500 miles per hour beyond the protective embrace of the atmosphere.
This scrubbed launch was to mark the first time Boeing would send humans to space as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, something rival SpaceX has already been doing with the enthusiasm of a straight-A student who submits their homework early. Starliner’s journey has had more hiccups than a soda-chugging contest, with an uncrewed test flight in 2019 that failed to reach the International Space Station because of software errors and subsequent delays that made fans of punctuality break out in hives.
Despite the setbacks, Boeing remains determined to get Starliner off the ground and into orbit, provided of course that all valves behave, thrusters respond, and clocks actually sync up this time. NASA, for its part, continues to offer cautious support, channeling the kind of energy usually reserved for parents at a sixth-grade science fair when they tell reporters that safety is the top priority.
“We are letting the data drive our decision-making,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, who now probably breaks into cold sweats at the sound of any ticking clock.
This fresh delay may be frustrating, but as aerospace developers will remind you while muttering to themselves and clutching coffee like a life preserver, spaceflight remains a precise and unforgiving endeavor where even the tiniest glitch can rewrite your itinerary from orbit to obituary.
And so, once again, the Starliner sits on the launchpad, looking heroic yet strangely contemplative, as if it too wonders whether it will ever leave home or just remain the world’s most expensive paperweight.
Good things come to those who wait, provided their oxygen valves cooperate.