Boeing's first crewed Starliner launch pushed back again, next possible opportunity 'still being discussed'

By James Rogers

'We will share more details when there is a clearer path forward,' NASA says

The historic first crewed launch of Boeing Co.'s Starliner spacecraft has been pushed back from May 25, marking the latest delay for the landmark mission.

"NASA, @BoeingSpace, and @ulalaunch are forgoing the May 25 launch attempt for the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test following meetings assessing flight rationale, system performance, and redundancy," wrote NASA's Commercial Crew Program on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday. "The next possible launch opportunity is still being discussed. We will share more details when there is a clearer path forward."

The first launch attempt from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 6 was scrubbed two hours before it was scheduled for liftoff due to concerns over an oxygen-release valve on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will transport Starliner into low-Earth orbit, and was initially pushed back to no earlier than May 10.

The launch was then targeted for May 17 to enable a valve replacement, before being delayed again to May 21 to allow for additional testing. Last week, NASA pushed the launch back to no earlier than May 25.

Related: Boeing's Starliner launch pushed back to May 25 for first crewed mission

NASA and its partners will soon have to contend with the Atlantic hurricane season, which starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. There are no tropical Atlantic cyclones at this time, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, although researchers at Colorado State University have forecast an "extremely active" Atlantic hurricane season this year.

The first crewed Starliner mission has faced a number of delays in recent years, so the launch will mark an important milestone for NASA, Boeing (BA) and their partners. The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which partners with the private space industry in the U.S. to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

The Starliner launch will transport NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS.

Related: Boeing's Starliner launch pushed back to May 17 for first crewed mission

In 2019, an uncrewed Starliner made its first test flight to the ISS, but docking with the space station was canceled because of an incorrectly set clock on the capsule. The second uncrewed test flight, Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2, successfully reached the orbiting space lab and returned to Earth in 2022.

United Launch Alliance, or ULA, was set up as a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) in 2006. Since then, the company's Delta and Atlas rockets have been used to send more than 150 missions into orbit.

Boeing shares were up 0.7% Wednesday, while Lockheed Martin shares were up 0.2%.

-James Rogers

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05-22-24 1521ET

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