The launch of the Boeing Starliner, which will take Sunita Williams to space for the third time, has been postponed due to technical reasons. No new date has been announced for the launch. The Boeing Starliner was scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8.04 am Indian time.
The launch of the Boeing Starliner, which will carry astronaut Sunita Williams into space for the third time, has been postponed due to a technical glitch. No new date has been announced for the launch. Sunita Williams, the poster girl for women who want to fly in space, was ready to take to the skies again today in a new spacecraft. The Boeing Starliner was scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8.04 am IST.
Launch stopped just before take off
However, just 90 minutes before liftoff, the launch of the Atlas V rocket was aborted. The US space agency NASA has announced that there was an off-nominal condition on the oxygen relief valve, which led to the postponement of the mission. NASA's Barry Wilmore was also going to fly in this flight along with Sunita Williams. Both astronauts were to take the Starliner to the International Space Station. Now both of them have come out of the spacecraft safely.
Sunita Williams was about to fly for the third time
This would have been the third space journey for Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams, who has already spent 322 days in space. She held the record for most hours in space by a woman before being overtaken by Peggy Whitson. This time, she was going to make history as the first woman to fly on the first crewed mission of a new spacecraft.
Williams helped design the Starliner
Williams went on her first space flight on December 9, 2006, which lasted until June 22, 2007. While aboard the spacecraft, she set a world record for women by going on four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes. His second visit was from 14 July to 18 November 2012.Williams, 59, admitted she was a little nervous but said she had no nerves about flying in the new spacecraft. He helped design the Starliner, working with engineers from NASA and Boeing.