Major US airline postpones launch of spacecraft to ISS

Boeing Starliner postponed the launch of the ship (photo: Getty Images)

The first test flight of the Boeing Starliner capsule with the crew was postponed at the last minute, reports Reuters.

The new Starliner space capsule was stopped during its first test flight with the crew. This is the second time in a few weeks that an unspecified technical problem has caused the mission to be delayed for at least another 24 hours.

The rubber drop-shaped Starliner capsule was ready to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on an Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance, Boeing-Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), but less than four minutes before liftoff, the ground system computer triggered an automatic abort command that halted the countdown, according to mission officials.

The next available window for launching the mission is tomorrow, June 2, at about noon.

The first flight of the Boeing Starliner manned spacecraft was postponed back in February 2023. At that time, it was planned that the launch would take place in April 2024.