After years of delays and stumbles, Boeing is finally ready to launch astronauts to the International Space Station for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Starliner will take off on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida
It will be the first time astronauts have ridden an Atlas since NASA's Project Mercury, starting with John Glenn when he became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Sixty-two years later, this will be the 100th launch of the Atlas V, which is used to hoist both satellites and spacecraft. It is striking that Alan Shepard, 62 years ago, on May 5, 1961, was the first American to go into space.
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are expected to depart aboard Boeing's Starliner crew, where they will stay for about a week.
Speaking of the two astronauts, Williams, 58, is a former Navy test pilot who has flown more than 30 different aircraft. Since her first flight in 2007, she has spent 322 days in space on two missions. Wilmore, 61, a retired Navy captain, has spent 178 days in space since his first of two space missions in 2009.
The mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft. The mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking and return to Earth in the western United States. “After a successful crewed flight test, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and systems for crewed missions to the space station,” the US space agency had said.
In 2019, an attempt to send an unmanned Starliner to the ISS for a week ended in failure. The mission had to be aborted because the spacecraft returned to Earth several days ahead of schedule due to numerous software and technical problems.
Launch time and where you can watch LIVE
Boeing and NASA are targeting a launch at 10:34 PM EDT on May 6, which is 4 AM IST on May 7 for a weeklong visit to the ISS. You can watch the launch LIVE on NASA's YouTube channel.
(With input from Reuters, Associated Press)
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Published: May 6, 2024 11:05 AM IST