CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. — The test flight for Boeing's new manned spacecraft is being pushed back because of an issue with the rocket.
- New launch target date is Thursday, December 19
- Starliner will launch on board an Atlas V rocket
- If launch is successful, a crewed launch could happen next year
- SpaceX ISS resupply mission scheduled for Wednesday
- RELATED: Rocket Launch Schedule
The launch for the Boeing Starliner spacecraft was originally set for December 17. But United Launch Alliance says teams have found an issue with the purge air supply duct on the Atlas V rocket that will carry the Starliner into space.
As a result, ULA and Boeing decided to push the launch back to December 19 while they replace the duct and finish processing the rocket for launch.
The Starliner test flight was already delayed twice this year for different reasons.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft is a capsule that will eventually take astronauts to the International Space Station.
Its first launch will be an unmanned test mission. Boeing hopes to send a crew to the ISS on board the Starliner next year if this first launch goes well.
Elsewhere, SpaceX plans to send up a Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday afternoon from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket will carry a Dragon capsule carrying supplies, science experiments, and equipment to the ISS.
In a parallel crew program to the Starliner, SpaceX is also developing a version of its Dragon capsule to carry astronauts.
The SpaceX launch window opens at 12:48 p.m. ET. Watch the launch live on Spectrum News when it happens.