After two scrubs, Boeing Starliner set for launch on June 5 from Cape Canaveral, Florida
After two scrubs, the inaugural crewed flight of Boeing Starliner is ready to make a third launch attempt. NASA said Sunday that they are targeting 10:52 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 5.
The crewed flight test scrubbed for the second time on Saturday at just under four minutes before liftoff. The reason: an issue with a United Launch Alliance ground computer launch sequencer.
The problem was not with the Starliner spacecraft, but with the prompts given to the Atlas V rocket during the final part of the countdown.
During a post-scrub news briefing, ULA CEO Tory Bruno described the computer ground launch sequencer as three main computers separate from the launch pad. Each computer has multiple cards, each linked to a separate function. ULA suspected the issue might have been with one of the cards.
ULA reported teams took Sunday morning to troubleshoot the issue and had a solution just over 24-hours after the scrub.
Bruno shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) that a "power chassis" had been replaced.
Ground system Launch Sequencer Repair is complete (replacement of power chassis). Retesting nearly complete. Engineering Review Board just finished up. Good to go pending successful finishing of the retesting. #CFT
— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) June 2, 2024
Later in the evening, NASA announced they were now targeting Wednesday.
According to the 45th Weather Squadron, weather will be 90% favorable for this launch attempt.
Saturday's scrub came after a May 6 scrub due to an oxygen valve on the Atlas V rocket. During the replacement of the valve, a helium leak was discovered on the Starliner spacecraft ? which was later narrowed down to a thruster. Officials have said their analysis showed that even with the leak, the Starliner could still get the crew home safely even in worst-case scenarios, allowing them to proceed despite the leak.
Be sure to follow the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team at floridatoday.com/space for the latest updates from the Space Coast.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: ULA Atlas V work complete: Boeing's Starliner targeting Wednesday launch