Space enthusiasts were excited for the Boeing Starliner to blast off to the International Space Station today, but a delay means the spacecraft will need to wait for the triumphant trip to take place.
The Boeing Starliner was due to launch onboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base today, Friday July 30 at 2.53pm (US time), or 7.53pm UK time.
However, Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission for its Starliner astronaut taxi has been delayed due to a mishap with Russia’s Nauka Module.
NASA wrote in a statement: "NASA and Boeing have decided to stand down from Friday's launch attempt of the agency's Orbital Flight Test-2 mission.
“Currently, launch teams are assessing the next available opportunity. The move allows the International Space Station team time to continue working checkouts of the newly arrived Roscosmos' Nauka module and to ensure the station will be ready for Starliner's arrival.”
When is the Boeing Starliner launch?
Liftoff has been rescheduled to take place on Tuesday, August 3.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich confirmed that liftoff is scheduled to take place at 1.20pm EDT, or 6.20pm BST.
The spacecraft is due to spend a day in orbit around the Earth before landing the next day.
The launch will be available to watch on NASA's website, with coverage starting a couple of hours before launch.
The upcoming launch will be the second orbital test fight, after previous attempts in 2019 ended just 48 hours later due to a computer error.
Why has the launch been delayed?
This time around liftoff has been postponed after jet thrusters of a newly arrived Russian research module inadvertently started firing a few hours after it was docked to the orbeting outpost, NASA confirmed.
This caused the Space Station to move 45 degrees out of altitude.
The seven crew members onboard weren't in any immediate danger, according to NASA and Russian state-owned news agency RIA.
However, the malfunction meant NASA decided to postpone the launch of Boeing's new CST-199 Starliner capsule.
This isn't the first time the Boeing Starliner launch has been delayed.
A previous internet issue delayed the spacecraft and its journey to the launchpad, having to postpone it until Friday rather than the original date of Wednesday.
Kennedy Space Center officials told the teams it would have to be delayed due to the weather and internet outage.
A Boeing spokesperson said: “Due to an internet service provider outage that could not be resolved before the onset of predicted weather exceeding operational constraints.”
