First launch of Boeing Starliner with NASA astronauts

Boeing aims to launch its first Starliner flight with astronauts on board on Saturday, in a long-delayed final test of the spacecraft.

Launch is scheduled for 12:25 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Two NASA astronauts will be aboard the Starliner capsule, which will be carried by United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station.

NASA and Boeing canceled a launch attempt in early May due to a problem detected with the rocket. ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martinreplaced the problematic valve on the rocket.

After calling off the May attempt, NASA and Boeing discovered a “small” helium leak in Starliner, forcing the agency and company to conduct another round of assessments. After analysis, NASA and Boeing believe the source of the leak is in the spacecraft’s helium propulsion system. But officials said last week that the leak was “stable” and “does not represent a flight safety issue.”

The Starliner crew debut has been delayed by several years, with SpaceX’s competing Dragon capsule regularly flying astronauts for NASA since 2020 as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew program. To date, Boeing has sunk $1.5 billion in costs due to Starliner setbacks and nearly $5 billion in development funds from NASA.

The spacecraft was once considered a competitor to SpaceX’s Dragon. However, various setbacks and delays have gradually moved Starliner into a backup position for NASA, with the agency taking the rare step of reassigning astronauts from Boeing’s first crew flights in 2021. Boeing is under contract to fly six missions Starliner operations to the ISS. Saturday’s crew flight test represents the last major step before obtaining NASA certification to begin regular missions.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams fly Starliner, the former being the spaceship’s commander and the latter its pilot.

Wilmore joined NASA in 2020 and has already flown into space twice aboard the Space Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz. Before NASA, Wilmore was a U.S. Navy pilot.

Williams was selected by NASA in 1998 and has also flown in space twice before, aboard the Space Shuttle and then the Soyuz. Williams was also a Navy pilot like Wilmore before joining the space agency.

Starliner is launched on ULA’s Atlas V. The rocket debuted in 2002, and the Starliner crew flight test represents its 100th launch.

The capsule itself is designed to carry up to four NASA astronauts per flight and more than 200 pounds of research and cargo. The spacecraft lands using a parachute system and airbags. Starliner is reusable, with each capsule designed to perform up to 10 missions.

Boeing’s crew flight test aims to certify that the Starliner system is capable of transporting NASA astronauts to and from the ISS.

If Starliner launches on Saturday, it will fly into space for about 25 hours before its scheduled docking with the International Space Station on Sunday at 1:50 p.m. The astronauts will then spend about a week on the ISS, dedicated to testing the Starliner, before returning to Earth.