Launch in limbo, Atlas 5 rocket hauled back to hangar for Starliner troubleshooting

The Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing's hard-luck Starliner capsule was hauled off its Cape Canaveral launch pad Thursday and back to a processing facility for work to figure out what caused valve problems that derailed a launch try Tuesday.

Depending on what engineers discover, the Atlas 5 could, in theory, be hauled back out to the pad for another launch try late this weekend or early next week. But that assumes an easy fix and NASA concurrence with whatever "flight rationale" emerges from the troubleshooting. In any case, with the rocket and capsule back inside United Launch Alliance's processing facility, engineers will begin inspections of thruster modules, or "doghouses," on the Starliner's service module to find out why some propellant line valves were found in the wrong positions during pre-launch tests.