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NASA's much-anticipated astronaut launch to orbit aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft faced an unexpected setback as engineers called off the planned liftoff due to a problem with the Atlas V rocket.

The delay, which further postponed the first-ever crewed flight of Starliner, prompts questions about the next steps in the mission and adds to the spacecraft's history of costly delays.

The planned launch, scheduled for Monday night, hit a roadblock when a valve regulating pressure in the oxygen tank of the rocket's second stage began buzzing at an unusual rate.

Although this behavior had been observed in previous Atlas V launches, the decision was made to prioritize astronaut safety and avoid any actions that could change the status of the vehicle while crew members Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were present.

Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance (ULA), said, "Our philosophy is we don’t have to change the state of the vehicle when the people are there, so we won’t." 

This setback comes amidst a challenging year for Boeing, marked by incidents such as the panel detachment on a Boeing 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight earlier in 2024.