Technologies

The Boeing Starliner Launch Is Delayed: Here’s What to Know

The Starliner’s first crewed launch has been more than a decade in the making.

Not so fast, Boeing Starliner. Boeing’s first crewed spaceflight was scheduled to launch Monday night from Space Launch Complex 41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but it was postponed just two hours before liftoff. Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were on board and ready to fly when the launch was called off. On Tuesday, NASA said that the earliest the launch would happen would be Friday, May 10.

The mission was scrubbed because of a faulty oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V rocket that was set to send the Starliner capsule into space. The valve was «buzzing,» or opening and closing rapidly, during the launch countdown, Space.com reported.

The Atlas V rocket was created by the United Launch Alliance, which is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

NASA says the mission will take the astronauts to the International Space Station for a little over a week, to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems. The testing is the final step in certifying the Starliner for repeat use in transport missions to and from the ISS. Once it finally launches, the Starliner should reach the ISS approximately 26 hours after launch.

This is the first new spacecraft to head to the ISS since the SpaceX Demo-2 made the same voyage back in 2020. The Boeing Starliner started life in 2010, when it was selected by NASA to be the next reusable transport to the ISS.

«The arrival of a brand-new vehicle, the first crewed flight of a new-generation spacecraft, is a really big deal,» said Michael Barratt, one of seven residents of the ISS. «You leave nothing to chance.»

A mission 14 years in the making

The Starliner was initially conceived as a commercial effort to take more people into space. In 2014, NASA tapped Boeing and SpaceX, and chose Starliner to be one of the first privately constructed spacecraft to shuttle astronauts to the ISS. NASA wanted to lean more on private business to build and maintain such spacecraft, instead of performing all the work itself.

Test flights were delayed for several reasons, ranging from unfavorable weather conditions to problems with software. Tests were pushed back in 2019 and again in 2021, and eventually were delayed till 2022.

The unmanned test flight finally launched on May 19 of that year, with the mission wrapping up a week later. It was a huge win for the Boeing crew, since it opened the doors for a crewed mission to the space station. NASA was pretty pumped about it as well. But the crewed launch was pushed back because of various problems, including some with the Atlas V rocket that’s presenting the problem with the 2024 launch.

The spacecraft is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is connected to its Artemis and moon to Mars plans.

How to watch the Boeing Starliner launch — eventually

NASA had planned to livestream Monday’s event on its YouTube channel, with commentary by Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smit. The direct video link is here, but of course the livestream is on hold until it happens.

Other YouTube channels had also planned to livestream the event, including SpaceX, Space.com’s VideoFromSpace channel and the Associated Press YouTube channel. We’ll update this story, and the video links, when a new launch date and time are announced.

CNET’s Gael Cooper contributed to this article.

Technologies

Honor’s Shimmering Magic V Flip 2 Has Arrived to Outshine Samsung’s Galaxy Flip

The flip foldable, releasing in China, includes a limited edition model co-designed by Jimmy Choo.

Honor has unveiled a new flip phone in China, and the company is billing it as, «the ultimate selfie device.» The Magic V Flip 2 includes an ultra-wide portrait mode, AI photography features and a playful, sparkly design.

The Magic V Flip 2 adds another device to Honor’s increasing lineup of foldable phones. So far, it’s only releasing the Magic V Flip 2 in China, starting on Aug. 28. It will sell for RMB 5,499 or about $766 USD.

The Magic V Flip2 appears to be geared toward influencers and fashionistas — a limited edition version of the new phone is co-designed by fashion icon Jimmy Choo and is, «inspired by the subtle shimmer of crystals.» It comes in deep sea blue and has a crushed stardust design, according to Honor’s press release.

Honor is also touting the phone’s 5,500mAh battery, which it says is the largest on the market for a flip phone. The also phone features a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 50 MP selfie camera. The Magic V Flip 2’s closest competition may be Samsung’s Galaxy Flip 7 FE, which is about $200 more expensive than the Magic V Flip 2.

Technologies

Silksong, Long-Awaited Hollow Knight Spinoff, Gets Release Date: Sept. 4

Announced in 2019, Team Cherry’s follow-up is coming sooner than expected, and it’s on Game Pass on Day 1.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is the follow-up, announced back in 2019, to one of the most beloved indie games of the last decade. In a special announcement video on Thursday, Australian developer Team Cherry revealed that the wait is almost over.

Silksong will be released on Sept. 4, according to the new trailer. The almost two-minute video reveals some of the new enemies and bosses in the upcoming spinoff and ends with the surprise release date.

Originally, Silksong was going to be a DLC for Hollow Knight. However, numerous delays resulted in it being pushed back again and again. Glimpses of the game would show up here and there over the years, but it was this year that it received the most attention from Nintendo as part of its Switch 2 lineup, and from Microsoft, which confirmed it would be available on Xbox Game Pass.

Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available on PC, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PS4 and PS5. It will be available on Day 1 for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Technologies

PS5 Prices Go Up Today. Here’s How Much and Why

You can expect to pay more for a new PlayStation, thanks to «a challenging economic environment.»

Sony will increase the prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles in the US, starting today. This follows the trend of console manufacturers such as Microsoft and Nintendo raising prices for their hardware in response to tariffs.

The PlayStation-maker posted about the price change Wednesday. The jump in price is $50 more than the current price for each model.

The new prices are:

PlayStation 5: $500 to $550
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: $450 to $500
PlayStation 5 Pro: $700 to $750

«Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,» Sony said in a post about the price increase.

As of Thursday morning, retailers and Sony’s online store have yet to update the console prices. This jump in price also will likely affect recently released PS5 bundles such as the Astro Bot bundle and Fortnite Cobal bundle.

Sony says accessories have not been affected by the change and this cost hike only affects the US.

In May, Microsoft increased the price of the Xbox Series consoles and Nintendo hiked the original Switch console price and Switch 2 accessories this month.

While the companies didn’t point to the tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump as the reason for the hardware price jump, it would explain the trend in recent months.