Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft’s historic inaugural manned mission has experienced a delay, with the launch now rescheduled to Friday following a technical glitch identified on the rocket intended to take the craft to space. This pronouncement was made on Monday’s live webcast after The United Launch Alliance – a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin that manufactures the Atlas V rocket – put a halt to the countdown due to an unanticipated issue with a valve located in the upper part of the vehicle. NASA confirmed the rescheduling in the early hours of Tuesday, with this eagerly-anticipated first manned test flight of the spacecraft now set to take place on Friday. For the first time, Boeing is set to propel the Starliner with a human crew aboard – NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore – on a mission that will journey to the International Space Station and then return.
