NASA and Boeing abandon July Starliner launch attempt

On June 1, NASA and Boeing held a media teleconference to provide an update on the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station, the agency’s first manned flight of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

During the call, the executives shared that they have decided to abandon the attempt to launch CFT in July to deal with the latest issues that have arisen.

A replay of the teleconference is available on NASA’s YouTube channel.

CFT is the final flight test before regular crewed missions to the space station in the next-generation system. The Starliner spacecraft for CFT will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Space Force Station Cape Canaveral, Florida, and will return to White Sands, New Mexico, about eight days later. This flight will include two NASA astronaut test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will perform a demonstration flight to demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system.

Following a successful test flight with the astronauts, NASA will begin the final process of certifying the Starliner spacecraft and systems for regular crewed flights to the space station.