NASA and Boeing forced to call off spacecraft launch with just minutes to go in the countdown

Boeing was forced to call off its first crewed launch with NASA of the company’s Starliner spacecraft on Saturday. 

The spacecraft was supposed to launch from Florida at 12:25 p.m. ET, making it the vehicle’s first crewed test flight.

However, the launch was stopped with less than minutes to go in the countdown, according to NBC News. This is a setback for Boeing which has dealt with prior delays this year.

If this mission was successful, NASA would have been able to authorize Boeing to take routine trips to the orbiting outpost.

As of now, it is not known exactly why the launch was called off. However, according to NBC, "The decision to call off the launch was made after an automatic hold was triggered on a computer known as the ground launch sequencer, which controls operations in the final minutes of a launch countdown. It’s not yet known what caused the hold."

The last Boeing launch attempt was last month, but it was called off due to issues with a valve.