The Boeing Starliner capsule which was supposed to take Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams (Sunita Williams) to space was abruptly stopped just a couple of hours earlier from the liftoff.
As per the details, the next target date for the liftoff has been set for May 17. The next attempt to launch Boeing Co's Starliner space capsule will take off with the first-ever crew test flight featuring two astronauts from the US, was reportedly pushed back to May 17. The first liftoff was halted because of the pressure valve issue on its booster rocket, which has been replaced by NASA, reported on Tuesday.
The CST-100 Starliner's space capsule which will voyage by carrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) has been highly anticipated and much-delayed as Boeing scrambles to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX for a greater share of lucrative NASA business.
Sunita Williams: About her history
Sunita Williams was born in Euclid (Ohio), to Indian-American neuroanatomist family- Deepak Pandya and Slovene-American Ursuline Bonnie (Zalokar) Pandya.
Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, where she received her commission as a banner in the US Navy from the US Naval Academy in May 1987.
Previously, Williams has completed two missions to the ISS:
- Expedition 14/15 (December 9, 2006, to June 22, 2007)
- Expedition 32/33 (July 14 to November 18, 2012)
- About the upcoming mission- Third Space Mission
Williams will be accompanied by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore in the liftoff of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Mission and Objective of the mission
The mission reportedly aims at testing the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, which includes the launch by docking and return to Earth in the western United States.
This mission will be the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft and it is crucial in certifying the system for future crewed missions to the ISS.
ALSO READ: Sunita Williams' 3rd space mission delayed due to technical glitch. Despite extensive efforts from the launch teams, the technical glitch persisted, forcing the space capsule to lift off.
