Sunita Williams’ third mission to space called off hours before takeoff

The launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has been called off for at least 24 hours due to a technical glitch with the Atlas V rocket. The flight was cancelled with less than two hours left in the countdown. The two-member crew, Sunita Williams, 58, and Barry Wilmore, 60, were strapped to their seats for an hour before the flight was called off. 

WHY SUNITA WILLIAMS’ MISSION WAS CALLED OFF

The Boeing Starliner was being readied for takeoff on Monday night. It stood ready for takeoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, atop the Atlas V rocket that was furnished by  United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture.

The takeoff was postponed due to an issue with the valve in the Atlas rocket’s second stage, and was announced during a live NASA webcast. It remains unclear how long it will take the issue to be resolved, but Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights are the available launch windows.

Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore were eventually assisted safely out of the capsule by technicians and taken away to the launch complex. 

It is not unusual for space missions to be called off at the last minute – even if seemingly minor malfunctions or unusual sensor readings are detected. 

SUNITA WILLIAMS’ & BARRY WILMORE’S MISSION

The NASA veterans, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who have logged in a combined 500 days in space over a course of two previous missions each to the space station, were selected to ride aboard the Starliner for its first crewed flight. Wilmore was the designated commander, while Williams was the pilot. 

After a flight of 26 hours, the capsule was scheduled to reach the space station and dock at the orbiting research outpost some 400 km above Earth. They were scheduled to be greeted by the resident ISS crew – four US astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts.

Williams and Wilmore were scheduled to stay at the space station for about a week, before returning to Earth in the Starliner for a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the US Desert Southwest. This is the first time such a system has been used for crewed NASA missions.

Depending on the outcome of the flight test, Starliner is booked to fly at least six more crewed missions to the space station for NASA.

(With Reuters inputs)