Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is set to make its inaugural crewed launch, potentially marking a historic and long-awaited victory for the beleaguered Starliner program. The mission, scheduled for May 6 from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41, will carry NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station. This follows years of delays and setbacks during test flights.
The two veteran NASA astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center on April 25 in preparation for their historic launch. The Starliner spacecraft, which will be carried into orbit by an Atlas V rocket, has undergone several test flights with no crew on board due to software issues and parachute problems.
Boeing is trying to catch up to SpaceX, which has been launching astronauts for NASA since 2020. NASA is keen on having capsules from two competing companies for its astronauts, even with the space station winding down by 2030.
The Starliner Crew Flight Test mission will test the spacecraft's systems with astronauts on board after two previous uncrewed flights. Boeing is contracted for six post-certification, or operational, missions to the ISS after this test flight.
NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore noted that they expect some issues during this first human flight of the spacecraft. NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing a decade ago to ferry astronauts to and from the space station, paying billions of dollars for their services.
The last time astronauts rode an Atlas rocket was during NASA's Project Mercury in the early 1960s.
