A meticulously planned mission to usher Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft into orbit was halted just minutes before liftoff due to a computer malfunction, frustrating NASA’s plans for its commercial spaceflight program. The countdown to the launch of the Atlas V rocket, tasked with propelling the Starliner and its crew of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, was automatically paused less than four minutes prior to liftoff on Saturday.
As anticipation built and the clock ticked down towards the 12:25 pm EDT launch window, an unexpected call of “Hold. Hold. Hold,” reverberated through the Atlas V launch team’s audio feed. The automatic hold dashed hopes for a smooth liftoff and prompted a postponement of the mission, marking the latest setback in Boeing’s Starliner program.
Wilmore and Williams, already seated inside the spacecraft, were swiftly assisted out by Boeing’s ground team as technicians scrambled to address the issue. The glitch, traced back to a problem with a ground computer, disrupted what was expected to be a routine launch to ferry the Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) for a crucial crew test flight.
“We can imagine a large rack that is a big computer where the functions of the computer as a controller are broken up separately into individual cards or printed wire circuit boards with their logic devices,” explained Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO, shedding light on the technical intricacies behind the glitch.
The malfunction occurred in one of the three computers responsible for overseeing the final minutes of the countdown. While two computers initiated seamlessly, a single card in the third unit experienced delays in booting up, triggering a red flag and halting the launch sequence.
Despite initial hopes for a quick fix, engineers from United Launch Alliance (ULA) are poised for an overnight troubleshooting session at the launch pad to identify the root cause of the issue. “If it doesn’t get off the ground by Thursday, the Starliner test flight could face a longer delay,” warned Bruno, underscoring the urgency of resolving the glitch promptly.
The disappointment surrounding the aborted countdown echoes a series of delays that have plagued Boeing’s Starliner program, pushing its first crew test flight seven years beyond the initially projected timeline. However, NASA remains undeterred, emphasizing the professionalism and dedication of the teams involved.
“Everybody is a little disappointed, but you kind of roll your sleeves up and get right back to work,” remarked Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program, reflecting the resilient spirit driving the mission forward.