A computer called off Boeing's first astronaut flight on Saturday with 3 minutes, 50 seconds on the countdown clock. The cause was computer trouble, the AP reports. Crews in Cape Canaveral, Florida, then went to work to shut down safely and remove astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were expecting to spend about eight days on the International Space Station, from their seats in the Starliner capsule. The team can't reach the computers to troubleshoot until the rocket is drained of fuel, said Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, which made the rocket.
"Of course, this is emotionally disappointing," NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, the backup pilot, said from neighboring Kennedy Space Center shortly after the countdown was halted. Within an hour of the launch abort, the hatch was reopened so the two astronauts could be pulled out. One of the three redundant computers located near the rocket at the pad was sluggish, Bruno said, adding that all three have to be working properly to go ahead with a launch. They coordinate the launch sequence, per the Washington Post.
A backup launch time had been scheduled for 12:03pm Sunday by NASA and Boeing, but there was no word on whether that's the new plan. After that, the possibilities are Wednesday and Thursday. The launch involving astronauts has hit repeated delays, the most recent on May 6 because of a problem with a valve. The Starliner capsule is to be carried by United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket to the space station. NASA is seeking a backup to SpaceX, which has been flying astronauts for four years, per the AP. (More Starliner stories.)
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