Update: CFT Mission postponed till no earlier than May 17th 2024 for roll back to the VIF for the 2nd stage Centaur valve change out!

Walkout photos just after 7:00 PM EDT of NASA Boeing ULA astronauts Barry Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the Neil Armstrong O&C building before climbing into the AstroVan and heading to the SLC-41 launch pad.

Around 8:30 ULA was forced to scrub the launch due to a vibrating LOX Oxygen valve on the 2nd stage Centaur Atlas V rocket which could not be exercised to stop the leaking valve until the crew had exited the Starliner capsule due to mission protocols which caused the scrub to occur. Tory Bruno CEO of ULA metioned in the 10:30 PM press conference that if a satellite was on board the mission would have already flown but with humans on board they would not exercise the valve which did solve the issue until the crew was off the rocket. Now ULA United Launch Alliance will work through the night to figure out if this valve exceeded the 20,000 cycles which would exceed the life of the valve. If the valve exceeded those estimated cycles then the valve would need replacement and a roll back to the VIF to strech the rocket with tools and clamps, then depressurize it for valve replacement which could take about a week. If the valve did not exceed its lifespan then they may be able to launch as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.

We will have to wait on ULA for a response by tomorrow sometime.

Photos by Scott Schilke for SipaUSA.com and spacenewsfl.com