Published: 10:28, June 2, 2024
NASA, Boeing scrub Starliner's first crewed mission minutes before liftoff
By Xinhua
The launch complex 41 ahead of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 1, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

LOS ANGELES - NASA and Boeing scrubbed the launch of the first crewed mission of the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday.

The spacecraft was scheduled to launched on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket at 12:25 pm Eastern Time (1625 GMT) on Saturday in the United States from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the state of Florida.

The spacecraft was previously scheduled to launch on May 6, but the launch attempt was scrubbed due to technical issues

A hold was given by ULA launch team about 3 minutes 50 seconds before the launch.

ALSO READ: Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed flight delayed over rocket glitch

Teams have scrubbed the launch attempt due to an automatic hold of the ground launch sequencer, said NASA.

NASA has not announced the time for the next launch attempt yet.

The flight test will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to ISS for about a week to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before NASA certifies the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbiting laboratory for the agency's Commercial Crew Program, according to NASA.

READ MORE: NASA, Boeing target July for first crewed flight test

The spacecraft was previously scheduled to launch on May 6, but the launch attempt was scrubbed due to technical issues.