Science News Roundup: Boeing postpones Starliner launch after new glitch; Russia, U.S. to work together on space station after 2024 - Ifax and more

Researchers on Wednesday described a battery of examinations that provided a glimpse inside one of Stonehenge's 52 sandstone megaliths, known as sarsens, gaining insight into its geology and chemistry.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Boeing postpones Starliner launch after new glitch

Boeing Co scrubbed the launch of its CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station on Tuesday due to a system glitch, a fresh setback for the U.S. aerospace company following the vehicle's botched 2019 debut. Boeing engineers ruled out "a number of potential causes, including software," but were still working to understand the source of "unexpected valve position indications" in the propulsion system, Boeing said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Russia, U.S. to work together on space station after 2024 - Ifax

Russia and the United States will continue working together on the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024, the Interfax news agency cited a senior official at Russia's space agency Roscosmos as saying on Wednesday. Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin in June suggested Moscow, whose newly attached research module briefly threw the space station off course last week, would withdraw from the ISS in 2025 unless Washington lifted sanctions on the space sector that were hampering Russian satellite launches.

Geological analysis explains durability of Stonehenge megaliths

The first comprehensive scientific analysis of Stonehenge's imposing megaliths has revealed some of the traits that made them an exemplary building material for the famed monument in southern England including their stout resistance to weathering. Researchers on Wednesday described a battery of examinations that provided a glimpse inside one of Stonehenge's 52 sandstone megaliths, known as sarsens, gaining insight into its geology and chemistry.

(With inputs from agencies.)