Two NASA astronauts have reached the final hours before a long-awaited launch attempt aboard Boeing\u2019s Starliner capsule, marking the first crewed mission of the brand-new spacecraft. <\/p>\n
Starliner \u2014 which the aerospace giant designed to rival SpaceX\u2019s prolific Crew Dragon capsule \u2014 is set to take off for its inaugural crewed test run at 10:34 p.m. ET Monday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. <\/p>\n
Weather or technical issues can always force a rocket launch to scrub all the way up until the countdown clock strikes zero, but the forecast for this evening is as good as it gets. Weather officials have said there\u2019s only a 5% chance that clouds, winds or storms will interrupt tonight\u2019s takeoff. <\/p>\n
This mission, dubbed the Crew Flight Test, could be the final major milestone before NASA deems Boeing\u2019s spacecraft ready for routine operations as part of the federal agency\u2019s Commercial Crew Program. The Starliner would join SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon in NASA\u2019s push to collaborate with private industry partners, expanding the United States\u2019 options for ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station. <\/p>\n
The mission crew members are veteran astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, each of whom has ventured to space on two previous journeys aboard NASA space shuttle and Russian Soyuz missions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re checking out a lot of the systems: the life support, the manual control,\u201d NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a Friday news conference. \u201cThat\u2019s why we put two test pilots on board \u2014 and of course the r\u00e9sum\u00e9s of Butch and Suni are extensive.\u201d <\/p>\n
This would mark only the sixth maiden voyage of a crewed spacecraft in US history, Nelson noted: \u201cIt started with Mercury, then with Gemini, then with Apollo, the space shuttle, then (SpaceX\u2019s) Dragon \u2014 and now Starliner.\u201d <\/p>\n
Williams will also become the first woman ever to join such a mission. <\/p>\n
If all goes to plan, the crew will board the Starliner capsule and lift off atop an Atlas V rocket Monday night. The spacecraft \u2014 carrying the astronauts \u2014 will break away from the rocket after reaching orbit and begin firing its own engines. The Starliner will then spend more than 24 hours gradually making its way to the space station, where the vehicle is expected to dock at 12:46 a.m. ET Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Williams and Wilmore are set to spend about a week aboard the orbiting laboratory, joining the seven astronauts and cosmonauts already on board, while the Starliner remains docked outside. <\/p>\n
The two will then return home aboard the same Starliner capsule, which is expected to parachute to a landing at one of several designated locations across the southwestern United States. <\/p>\n
Much is riding on a smooth test flight. NASA has been waiting half a decade for Starliner to begin flying crew, and the development of Starliner was beset by years of delays, setbacks and blunders. More broadly, Boeing as a company has suffered years of scandals in its aircraft division that have tarnished the legacy aerospace giant\u2019s brand. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe got through a pretty rigorous process to get here,\u201d said Mark Nappi, vice president and Starliner program manager at Boeing, of the development process during the Friday briefing. \u201cAnd really where my source of confidence comes from is going through that process.\u201d <\/p>\n
If successful, the Crew Test Flight could queue up Boeing to begin flying routine trips to the space station on NASA\u2019s behalf. <\/p>\n