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Boeing Starliner Spacecraft Set To Blast Off On 1st Crewed Test Flight. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired June 01, 2024 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN "BREAKING NEWS".

[12:00:40]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Alisyn Camerota, in for Fredricka Whitfield. We have an exciting program for you today, because within the next half an hour, we expect to witness the first ever Boeing Starliner spacecraft launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida to the International Space Station. This is not a practice run. This launch has two American astronauts on board.

But officials and spectators are holding their breath a bit because this mission was already postponed a few times. Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are on board.

And Boeing is trying with this to compete with its rival, SpaceX, as NASA tries to collaborate with private industry partners. If successful, Suni Williams would become the first woman aboard any crewed test flight like this. Years of work have gone into this moment and it has not been without setbacks as I have mentioned.

So, let's bring in space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher. She is live at Kennedy Space Center for us, as well as former NASA administrator, Charles Bolden.

OK. So, Kristin, is this going to happen today?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, with about 24 minutes left on the countdown clock, we are go for launch. We've been watching two things this morning. Two potential problem spots for NASA Boeing and the United Launch Alliance, and that is first, the wind. It's been very gusty here but so far, so good on the weather front. The weather team saying we are go for launch as of now. And then, the other issue we've been watching has been an issue with the Centaur rocket. Let me just show you. This is an older model here. So, it's not perfectly accurate, but I'll give you an idea of what we're talking about.

So, this is the both the Boeing Starliner capsule and spacecraft on top. This is where the two NASA astronauts are. What's below it is the Atlas rocket, and this is what's going to propel the Starliner spacecraft into orbit.

This right here is called the rockets upper stage, it's the Centaur. And there was an issue here during that first scrub back on May 6th. Now, an issue again, but different. It's an issue with a sensor for a topping valve, essentially a valve that tops up the fuel inside this upper stage of the rocket.

They went about through about an hour of checks trying to figure it out, they ended up switching to a backup system. They think they've got it fixed. So, we are now go for launch.

And I should just point out, Alisyn. The capsule is made by Boeing. This whole rocket is made by the United Launch Alliance. So, different company. That's what the issue was with, as I mentioned back in May. But now, we're a go for launch.

So, what can we expect in about 22 minutes. Hopefully, this spacecraft is going to launch from the Cape Canaveral -- Cape Canaveral Space Force Station up into orbit. And they are going to spend about eight days up at the International Space Station.

And the reason this is so important, Alisyn, is because of the fact that NASA wants redundancy. They already have the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which can take NASA astronauts to the ISS. They want a backup alternative. That's what Boeing Starliner is.

And Alisyn, you should ask Charlie Bolden about this, because he was the NASA administrator when Suni Williams was initially named to the Starliner crew back in 2015. That's how long she has been waiting to fly today.

CAMEROTA: Oh, that's great context.

OK, Charles. So, tell us how Suni Williams and her fellow astronaut are preparing in these final moments.

CHARLES BOLDEN, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, NASA: I will tell you.

Kristin, it's great to see you. I don't know whether you can see me or not. But Kristin is a long, long longtime friend. I was in the astronaut office with her father and mother. And so, it's great to be working with you.

But Suni and Butch are resting in the spacecraft, and my guess is they are -- they are having trivial chit chat right now. You know, they have been prepared for this mission for months, if not years, and they're just ready to go. They do not want to crawl out of the spacecraft again until they come back after a successful flight and landing.

[12:05:02]

CAMEROTA: Charles, it's so funny to hear you say that they're having trivial chit chat, because I know that by nature, you -- astronaut types are cool customers. But, I mean, this mission has been scrubbed a couple of times. How can they be so cool right now? When you hear things like, you know, the fuel -- the fuel gauge isn't working or last week, the -- there was a helium leak.

BOLDEN: There, you know, both Butch and Suni have been test pilots before and they have been through things like this. So, it's not that they are cool, it's just that they have confidence in ground crew, they have competence in their training team that got them ready for this. And trust me, they have seen every potential failure that can go with their spacecraft and they are ready to work up, you know, any malfunction that happens to come their way.

So, when I say trivial chitchat, it -- I'm probably overestimating it there, but they are not, you know, they are not talking about problems with the vehicle, they are just talking about the things that they are going to have to do once liftoff occurs, because that's when -- that's when their work starts.

They are -- hopefully, they are relaxing right now, and going in their heads over the procedures that they are going to have to do once they get lift off because they've got to get 12 minutes --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: And -- yes.

BOLDEN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BOLDEN: Until they get to -- yes, until they get to orbit, and there will be some minor things that they will have to do on the way up.

CAMEROTA: And Charles, we're going to have you walk us through all of that in a few moments. Kristin, Charles, stay with us because we're going to go live, obviously to this launch. But I want to bring in meteorologist Elisa Raffa right now.

OK. So, Elisa, tell us what the weather looks like. It sure looks gusty when Kristin was just reporting.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we've had winds outwards of 20 miles per hour in Cape Canaveral. You can see them on radar. We've got some sunshine; we've got some clearer skies there. There are some storms back off in the panhandle. Kind of the Big Bend area. Panama City getting some heavy rain, but those storms kind of dissipate before they can get to Cape Canaveral. So, you've got a couple of clouds out there, 84 degrees at that launch time. East winds at 15 miles per hour. Those easterly winds again have been kicking. This is a live update of some of those wind speeds they have been sustained, up around 70 miles per hour. Gusts up to 24 miles per hour.

For launches as well, we also need to worry about the wind speeds not just kind of at the surface, but upstairs in the atmosphere as well. So, something to watch again, gusts up to 24 miles per hour right now out of the east.

There is a look at some of those storms. The easterly winds will keep the storms kind of out in the Gulf of Mexico. So, not really expected to hit the Florida peninsula, which is good news, keeps the lightning and the heavy rain out of the way.

You can see the line of storms kind of dip into the Gulf of Mexico and then continue to kind of dissipate. So, again, staying dry in Cape Canaveral. We'll just have to watch the easterly wind that continues to gusts there. Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Elisa, we'll check back -- excuse me, we'll check back with you.

All right. Everybody stick around because this launch is a go right now. We are standing by for this historic moment. It is less than 15 minutes away. So, we're going to take a very quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:12:38]

CAMEROTA: We are minutes away from a rocket launch. We're looking at live pictures ahead of Boeing's historic first crewed launch. With me now for this historic mission, space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher at the Kennedy Space Center for us. And former NASA administrator, Charles Bolden is back with us.

OK. Kristin, we are T-minus 14, as I like to say. I'm only going to use astronaut lingo here for the rest of the morning, hopefully. But also tell us about these astronauts that we're looking at.

FISHER: Well, you know, Alisyn, there are space flights, and then there are test flights and for every NASA astronaut. A test flight is kind of the thing that you always aspire to because it is so rare. There have only been six in U.S. history: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the space shuttle, SpaceX Crew Dragon, and now, Boeing Starliner.

So, to be one of the two astronauts selected for this mission is a huge honor. NASA only selects its top astronauts for this, because it is so risky. It is so dangerous. No humans have ever been inside of this spacecraft as it goes all the way up into outer space.

So, for this mission, they selected the commander, Butch Wilmore. He is a Navy test pilot, been a NASA astronaut since 2000, log 178 days in space, four spacewalks, from Tennessee. Just an all-round really nice guy. He is also a pastor at his local church.

And then, the pilot is Suni Williams. She is also a Navy test pilot, selected as an astronaut in '98. She was -- she is - she is about to become in just a few minutes now, the first woman on a crewed test flight. That's never happened before.

She's done seven spacewalks. That's the second most logged -- the second most amount of cumulative spacewalk time out of any female astronaut, and the first to finish a triathlon in space.

The two of them have really bonded over their many years in training. And, you know, I should just note, Alisyn, that they have been waiting for years to fly this thing. I mean, NASA first selected Boeing and SpaceX to fly these commercial crew missions to the ISS back in 2014.

Suni was assigned in 2015. So, that's how long she has been waiting for this mission. Alisyn?

[12:15:03]

CAMEROTA: That's an incredible context there, Kristin.

So, Charles, just help -- just so I understand, the difference between a test flight and a space flight is that no one has ever gone into space on this rocket before. So, they need to make sure that this particular rocket gets them to the International Space Station. Is that right?

BOLDEN: That's not exactly right, Alisyn. Look --

CAMEROTA: Correct me.

BOLDEN: Every flight -- every flight that we fly on a new vehicle, until it's determined that its operational is a test flight. For example, the space shuttle, which was flown -- well, you know, I was there.

The first five missions were all orbital flight tests. So, we had a number of different things we had to go through to certify that the vehicle was ready for flight. So, this flight, plus the next few will still be test flights. But this is the -- this is the initial crewed test flight.

If you remember, we already had two flights on this vehicle. The first flight in 2019 was the one where we had some software problems, and we were -- we overuse the propellant allocation, and we were not able to dock with the International Space Station.

And then, we came back and flew several months ago, the -- a re-fly of the non-crewed test flights. So, this is -- this is actually test flight number three of a series of test flights. We use the term operational flight, but for us who are pilots, every flight is a test flight until we feel the vehicle is certified.

CAMEROTA: Yes, thank you. I'm so glad that you're here with me. Prepare yourself for many moments of confusion from me, while I asked you these questions. Here is the next one. We have just --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDEN: It is not -- you are not unusual at all, we all -- we always want to make the public feel really good. So, we stopped using the term tests. But for those of us who are flying, we actually realize that we're testing well into a program.

And every time we change the configuration of a vehicle, which will happen to Starliner just as it's already happened to the Crew Dragon. That's another test flight to verify that new configuration.

CAMEROTA: But I hear you, Charles. I understand why test, the word test is more anxiety provoking than, you know, calling it something different. I get -- I understand why you're saying that about, you know, trying to make sure the public has confidence in this.

Here is -- here is something else that might be nerve racking for our viewers to hear. So, there is not a delay. This is the latest thing we're hearing but they are dealing with an issue in the fan that apparently controls the temperature of the spacesuits. Tell us how serious that is.

BOLDEN: As I understand it, and I went -- I went to silent, I was trying to follow along with mission control, but they have a problem in the suit. They got up -- Butch got up a pressure -- It looked like a pressure of caution like for his suit. So, they had the crew to open their visors, to let them get just some fresh air. They have a backup system. And my understanding was the ground is troubleshooting and trying to find out whether they need to switch to the backup system to allow them to go ahead and launch.

But it's not anything with the vehicle. This is actually in the suit itself.

CAMEROTA: Kristin, or anything you're hearing on the ground there?

FISHER: Yes. So, there was an issue with the fan that essentially circulates air inside Butch Wilmore's suit.

Keep in mind, these are big, heavy spacesuits. They've gotten better than the big heavy, clunky silver suits from the Apollo days. But they are still hot.

I mean, this is Florida in the summertime, right? So, you have to have a fan, you have to have air circulating inside this suit, or these astronauts can overheat. So, that seems to be the issue.

But I believe they have just gotten it resolved. The astronauts just put their visors back down. So that's always a good sign, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Kristin, Charles, stick around with us. We will need your help, obviously, throughout this hour.

Everyone, we're going to take a very quick break and be right back for more coverage of this live and historic launch. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:23:21]

CAMEROTA: OK, folks, you are looking live at this historic rocket launch of NASA's partnership with Boeing. We are now just minutes away. So, let's listen in live as NASA prepares.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- ignition has made switched to disabled position.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ignition disabled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, consoles step 60, report launch vehicle status.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adversely (PH), Atlas take pressures and helium bottles stable. Atlas propulsion system stable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Center lead?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Center think pressures and helium bottles stable. Since our propulsion system stable, as gas readings nominal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Vehicle electrical?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: V.E. channel one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Avionics system stable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And L.C. can verify no indications of hazards. Flight L.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: L.C. Starliner systems are stable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Starliner, last arm switch to off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last arm switch is off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:25:06]

CAMEROTA: Yes. So, folks, we're going to bring in Kristin Fisher who is live on the ground for us -- our space correspondent. Because, we -- they -- we hear them saying everything is stable, Kristin, but then, we see the clock not moving.

FISHER: Yes. So, we don't know what the issue is. But there is some kind of issue. Because as you said, there is been a hold that's been put on the clock at three minutes and 50 seconds.

But that is problematic because this is an instantaneous launch window, meaning, they have to launch at precisely the right minute and second, in order to perfectly rendezvous with the International Space Station. So, it -- I guess it's potentially likely that we could still see a launch today, but this is looking increasingly, not likely that this launch is going to happen, because I just don't see how, how they can make that instantaneous launch window with a hold that is now this long.

But again, no word on what that issue is just yet. No word on, you know, what it could be really, I mean, usually, NASA is pretty good about updating us with this sort of stuff.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

FISHER: But the previous issue was with something right here in the Atlas V rocket. This is the center portion of the Atlas V rocket, the rockets upper stage. There was an issue with a faulty sensor that's used when fueling this upper stage.

And they say that they fix that problem. So, unclear if it's another issue with that faulty sensor, or if it's something else entirely.

The other issue we ran into, of course, was with that flashing red light on Butch Wilmore's console, which was an issue with his spacesuit, specifically, the fan inside his suit, it wasn't circulating. And that's a problem because you don't want to overheat when you're inside this rocket.

And then, the only other problem that we've really been monitoring, and so far, it hasn't been a problem, has just been the wind speeds. They are -- they are gusting a bit higher than NASA would like for a launch.

But still, within the constraint -- when the constraints of what is considered to be acceptable for a launch for the Atlas V and the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, just putting that model down there. It's not mine, so, I don't want to break it.

But Alisyn, right now, we are just kind of everybody standing around and waiting. I'll tell you one more sign that's not a good sign. All of the NASA press personnel, everybody, they are typically watching this from inside a press office. They walked out to see the actual launch. And I just saw all of them walk back in.

So, typically, when the NASA press team is walking back in, they tend to know things that maybe we don't know yet. Which is why, another reason why, I'm so skeptical that this launch is now going to happen, given the fact that it's now -- it's now 12:27. Yes, it's 12:27. We're now two minutes past that instantaneous launch window.

I can't officially call it, but I think it's highly unlikely that this -- that this launch happens today, Alisyn, if impossible.

And so, what this would mean is there is a chance that they could try again tomorrow. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Yes, yes, yes. OK, let's bring in former NASA administrator Charles Bolden, who you see if he can shed any light on this. Charles, what do you think is happening?

BOLDEN: Yes. Regretfully, I can't. I'm mystified as Kristin. You know, they got up -- I think that -- and I am not familiar with this vehicle, but it sounded like something I'll see filled or see failed indication at the three minus -- three minute, 52nd point. And that's an automatic hole where the system implements a hold on its own. So, nobody had to do that.

So, there -- I -- but I do not know what the issue is.

CAMEROTA: I mean, what was interesting, Charles, is that we kept hearing that check in from NASA. You know, we were hearing them say, this system and the response would be stable, and then, this system and their response to be stable, but yet, the clock wasn't moving.

BOLDEN: Well, they were checking once the hole was put in place. Then, what the -- what the launch director wanted to make sure was that the vehicle was, in fact, still in good shape. That, because there is -- they are constantly filling the fuel tanks. So, they are going through a replenishment if you will.

The propellants for this vehicle, you know, they boil off, and you want to make sure that that the tanks are full, so, they continue to replenish right up until just before liftoff.

So, they wanted to make sure that everything was stable. And you may have heard, if you were listening, we had someone listening to the NASA net. They were just trying to make sure that all the systems were stable. That everything was OK, and that there was nothing that they had to worry about or take care of right away.

You know, they are -- they are always hoping that there may be something very minor that we could clear, as Kristin said, it's an instantaneous launch.

[12:30:02]

But, you know, we've all seen cases where, OK, we're a few seconds behind the space -- behind the International Space Station, but we can make up that time and distance. So they want to make sure that they're ready to go if all of a sudden something turns out to be really minor and they can reset it -- can pick up the countdown. But when they cycle back to T-minus four minutes, that was a good indication that weren't going today.

CAMEROTA: So, Charles, what does this mean for the astronauts on board right now, for Butch and Suni, what are they doing?

BOLDEN: They're disappointed. But they have abort or not abort, but they have checks that they have to do. So there are systems that they have to safe in the vehicle itself. You know, as you go through the countdown, if I can relate this to shuttle, because, again, I want to make sure everybody understands. I know nothing about Starliner, but it's a spacecraft, and most spacecraft are similar in nature. Starliner is in many ways very similar to the shuttle in terms of systems, the way the crew interacts. This is a pilot's spacecraft.

You know, it's got hand controllers. It's not a push button, do everything on the screen like the crew dragon. So my guess is there are a lot of systems, so they will have to save systems that were set in the position of being ready for a launch. And that's stuff that Butch and Suni have to do in the cockpit, you know, and they'll go through getting there. They'll probably, in fact, it looks like they've actually opened their visors already. So, you know, they're getting good fresh air and everything, and they're going through the abort checklist, if you will, that they have on board.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, we're looking live at them right now. Their faces are impassive. However, as you say, we see their visors up and they took off their seatbelts, which is, you know, sort of sign that they're not taking off right now. So, Kristin, I'm going to go back to you because this is not good news for Boeing. I mean, Boeing was, you know, I don't know if it's been scrubbed two times before or three times before, but Boeing is trying to prove itself in this arena now.

FISHER: Yes, I mean, Boeing desperately needs a win here, right? I mean, they were first awarded this contract to fly NASA's commercial crew missions about a decade ago. And since then, you know, everybody thought that Boeing, NASA's golden prime contractor for so many years during the shuttle program, was going to beat SpaceX's crew dragon to flying astronauts to the International Space Station. So many NASA astronauts back then wanted to be assigned to Boeing missions, not SpaceX.

That clearly turned out to be dead wrong. I mean, since then, SpaceX has flown 13 crewed missions to the International Space Station. Boeing Starliner still has yet to get off the ground. So, yes, not what Boeing wanted, but this could not be a Boeing issue, right? I mean, the rocket itself that propels the Boeing Starliner spacecraft into space is designed by a different company, the United Launch Alliance. And that first scrub back in May was caused by an issue with the rocket, not Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

So, yes, it's a setback for Boeing, but it's also potentially not even Boeing's fault here. Now, granted, they've had tons of technical and other issues and engineering problems along the way, but the scrub back in May wasn't their fault. And this one might not be, too. We just don't know yet. Also really important to point out here, Alisyn, that scrubs are really common in space flight. They happen all the time. The current NASA administrator, Bill Nelson's, his mission to space -- back on a space shuttle, it scrubbed four or five times, and that wasn't even a test flight. So these things happen.

And there's especially an added layer of scrutiny around a first crewed test flight like this one. And, you know, the ULA, they even said that first scrub back in May, if there hadn't been a crew on board, if there had just been satellites and payloads on board like they normally fly, they would have already been in orbit. But because they were dealing with people on board instead of payloads and satellites, they were taking extra precautions. And so that may be what happened here. But we're now getting official confirmation that they are ready to proceed with the scrub. It's now an official scrub, but still no reason why. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Kristin, you're so right. Obviously, safety is paramount with the crew on board, of course. And I'm glad that you point out that scrubs are quite commonplace. The last one was a week ago on May 25th. That one was scrubbed for a helium leak. Before that, it was supposed to launch on May 6th, but it could launch again tomorrow. That was another opportunity. So when will we -- Kristin, when will we find out if that could happen tomorrow?

[12:35:00]

FISHER: So that was the next backup date. But there's always an issue once you start fueling the rocket, Alisyn. Once you start fueling the rocket and you get all of those highly flammable propellants loaded into the Atlas V rocket, it can take some time before they're ready to turn that rocket around again. So I don't think it is possible to turn the rocket around in time for a launch the next day in less than 24 hours now.

Don't quote me on that. That may not be 100 percent accurate, but typically that's the way it goes with these missions. You need more than 24 hours. That backup date initially is like, let's say the -- they were able to decide that they wanted to scrub before they started loading the rocket with fuel. Then they could have pushed the scrub to the next day. So it remains to be seen but I think it might be a tall order to turn this vehicle around by tomorrow. The next backup launch dates would be next week, I believe, June 5th and June 6th. So they're certainly going to try again if they can. But it really just all hinges on what the issue is here.

And it may be something as simple as just a faulty sensor. That's one of the worst things that engineers have to deal with, Alisyn, where the hardware is actually functioning properly. But there's just a sensor that's reading the data wrong, and that's what causes a scrub, and that can lead to an automatic hold, which may be what happened here. But again, we just don't know yet. And, you know, Alisyn, I think big picture here, I'm sure some folks are wondering, you know, why is it so important to have a second spacecraft that can take NASA astronauts up to the International Space Station?

A lot of people say, hey, we already have the SpaceX crew dragon doing that reliably for four years now. And there's also a Russian Soyuz rocket that can do the same and is currently doing the same, despite these ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine. So why do we need a third vehicle? The reason is, according to NASA, they want a competitor to SpaceX. They want that redundancy. They want a backup in case something happens to the SpaceX fleet of Falcon 9 rockets and crew dragon capsules.

So this is about backup systems. It's about redundancy. It's about allowing more NASA astronauts to fly. It's about reducing the Russians dependency -- reducing U.S. dependency on Russian Soyuz rockets. And it really would usher in a new kind of golden era of space travel, so to speak. Because as the NASA administrator, the current NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has been saying, Alisyn, this is what -- this -- if they can get Boeing Starliner off the ground, this is the moment that NASA has been waiting a decade for, to have not one, but two spacecrafts that can do the exact same thing.

Freeing NASA up to focus on bigger picture stuff like the Artemis missions and returning NASA astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo program. Alisyn?

[12:38:10]

CAMEROTA: Really good information for us to have. Kristin and Charles stick around, if you would, because we're getting information in very quickly and we're going to take a very quick break because this historic Starliner launch has now officially been scrubbed until at least tomorrow, maybe beyond. But we're going to see if we can find out in the next few minutes why. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: OK, folks, let me bring you up to speed on what's been happening here. So moments ago, NASA just scrubbed the planned launch of this Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The two astronauts that we've been watching live on board, that's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will be staying grounded today. So they were just under four minutes from launch, three minutes and 50 seconds, to be exact, when the automated system caused a hold. And we still don't know exactly why.

All sorts of systems were stable and set to launch. But something has scrubbed this takeoff for today. So back with me are space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher at the Kennedy Space center and former NASA administrator Charles Bolden. Charles, disappointing, I'm sure, for you as well as for the astronauts, as well as all the spectators. Any idea of why this would happen?

BOLDEN: No, I don't. And as Kristin has said earlier, the hold was put on by the ground launch sequencer. When we're going through a countdown, there is a point in the shuttle, again, I'll relate everything to shuttle days, but in the shuttle days, we got down to the T-31 second point in the count when everything shifted from the -- what we call the ground launch sequencer to onboard control. And so this was the ground launch sequencer, something in the ground system software that detected a problem.

So that's what the team is off trying to detect -- determine now what was it? What signal? I think you know, I will say, going back to what Kristin said about sensors when now Administrator Senator Nelson and I were on board Columbia for both of our first flight in 1986, we got down to T-14 seconds and had this happen. And went into a hold, and the hold was initiated by the onboard launch sequencer because it detected a problem with one of our hydraulic power units in the right hand solid rocket booster.

[12:45:22]

It caused us to roll the vehicle all the way back to the VAB to actually go in and remove the power unit from the solid rocket booster. In the end, what was found out was there was a little piece of debris one of the computer cards in the solid rocket booster. There was nothing wrong with the hardware at all. Had we launched, there probably would have been no problem at all.

But there is a saying that better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. And so that's the step we always take.

CAMEROTA: That makes sense. That is a very good adage. But, Charles, just because you've experienced this, you're one of the only people on earth who has experienced this. What is it like the after the adrenaline rush of preparing mentally and physically to launch and then for it not to happen? What do the astronauts do for the rest of the day? How do they come down from this experience?

BOLDEN: Alisyn, I want to, you know, it's interesting you asked that question because I was sitting here. I was OK until we had the whole. And then once I saw the clock go back, that's when my heart started beating because I knew weren't going to launch. And I think, I can't speak for Butch and Suni, but, you know, the potential for a scrub is always in their mind, but that's not something they expect.

And when it does occur, it takes us a few seconds, if not minutes, for it to sink in but I'm not going today. And that's an incredible disappointment, you know, especially we went to the vehicle five times, Senator Nelson and I did. And we finally launched on our fifth launch attempt. And the bad part is we got down to T-14, T-31, T-31. If you're going to scrub, you want to go when you're not even close to going. Today is not as bad as it may be for the crew. Not going any day is bad, but at least they didn't get down into the final stages, you know, where they're all set and ready to go, and they're expecting ignition here in just a matter of seconds. So if there's a time to scrub, there is no good time, but it's best to do it a little bit farther out like this.

CAMEROTA: Very good context for us that only you can provide. Charles Bolden. Thank you very much.

[12:47:48]

Folks, we're going to take another very quick break because we do -- we are getting, continuing to get information on what went wrong here with this launch or scrubbed launch of the Starliner. And we'll be right back.

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CAMEROTA: Let me update you on the latest developments here. Moments ago, NASA scrubbed the planned launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. Two astronauts poised to fly that rocket into space are now preparing to exit it on the ground. We were less than four minutes away from the launch when an automated system caused a hold. Let's bring in NASA Astronaut Loral O'Hara. She joins us live now. Loral, what happened? LORAL O'HARA, NASA ASTRONAUT: Hi. So ground teams are still -- they're still looking into the data, but what we're hearing is that it's an automatic hold of a ground launch sequencer.

CAMEROTA: And in layman's terms, what does that -- would that have been dangerous? What does that mean?

O'HARA: We're still, like I said, ground teams are still looking into it. And that's all I know as well here watching the launch.

CAMEROTA: Yes, we're watching as equipment, bags, et cetera, appeared to be coming off, I guess, well, or maybe going on. Basically, this is the crew that's going to extract the astronauts from the rocket, we think. And so, I mean, Loral, you've -- this is your life. You know, you've, as I understand, you've spent 204 days in space on the space station. And so have you had these experiences, these last minute, you know, T-minus four minutes, scrubs like this?

O'HARA: I have kind of peripherally on my landing. The launch of my replacement, Tracy Dyson was scrubbed, actually. So I ended up staying on orbit a little bit longer. But astronauts, we train for things like this, and we're always ready if we need, if things don't go as planned. And so we'll reset and hopefully get to try again tomorrow.

CAMEROTA: Loral, I hadn't even considered the idea that your replacement could be grounded. What did you have to do at that point, just circle?

O'HARA: So I was on board space station. So I just stayed on space station and kept working until she arrived. So it was about, I think, five or six day delay. But it's definitely, you know, you get ready for a moment and then that moment doesn't happen. And it's always hard, but you have to very quickly pivot and look at the situation that you have in front of you and keep on working the problem.

[12:55:07]

CAMEROTA: Yes. I mean, you astronauts are such cool cucumbers. It's incredible that you're, you know, you're so flexible for whatever eventuality happens. But you just said that it might launch tomorrow, and I know that was another planned launch date. If today was scrubbed, is it possible for them to turn it around that quickly and try this again tomorrow?

O'HARA: It is possible. I don't know yet if that's the plan, but we do have a backup launch time tomorrow, midday.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Well, we know everyone there is disappointed, you know. I know it's hard to take your foot off the gas after all of this adrenaline and excitement, but we will obviously be watching and monitoring if it's going to happen tomorrow or later this week. Loral O'Hara, thanks so much for sharing your personal experience.

O'HARA: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right. We'll have more from Kennedy Space Center when we get some information and much more of today's news, right after this.

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