(The livestream begins at 8:15 a.m. ET. If you don’t see the video player above, please refresh the page.)
boeing company The first Starliner flight carrying astronauts is scheduled to launch on Saturday, a long-delayed final test of the spacecraft.
The launch is scheduled for 12:25 pm ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Two NASA astronauts will board the Starliner capsule, which will be transported to the International Space Station on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
NASA and Boeing canceled a launch attempt in early May after detecting problems with the rocket. ULA is a joint venture of Boeing Co. Lockheed Martinreplaced the rocket’s problematic valve.
Sign up here to receive the weekly edition of CNBC’s Space Investing Newsletter.
After canceling the May attempt, NASA and Boeing discovered a “small” helium leak in the Starliner, leading the agency and company to conduct another series of assessments. After analysis, NASA and Boeing believe that the source of the leak lies in the spacecraft’s helium propulsion system. But officials said last week that the leak was “stable” and “not a flight safety issue.”
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launched on Thursday, May 30, 2024, from Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Isaac Watson | NASA
astronaut
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore (left) and Suny Williams.
Image credit: Kim Shiflett | NASA
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew on Starliner, the former as the spacecraft’s commander and the latter as the pilot.
Wilmore joined NASA in 2000 and had previously flown into space twice aboard the Space Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz. Before NASA, Wilmore was a U.S. Navy pilot.
Williams, who was selected by NASA in 1998, has flown into space twice before, first on the Space Shuttle and then on the Soyuz. Before joining the space agency, Williams, like Wilmore, was a naval aviator.
rockets and space capsules
On Thursday, May 30, 2024, a Boeing Starliner spacecraft carrying a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket appeared on the Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad at the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Isaac Watson | NASA
Starliner launches on ULA’s Atlas V.
The capsule itself can carry up to four NASA astronauts and more than 200 pounds of research and cargo per flight. The spacecraft lands using a parachute and airbag system. Starliner is reusable, with each capsule designed to carry out up to 10 missions.
mission
Boeing’s manned flight test aims to prove that the Starliner system can carry NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
If Starliner launches on Saturday, it will fly in space for about 25 hours before docking with the International Space Station on Sunday at 1:50 p.m. The astronauts will then spend about a week aboard the International Space Station, focusing on testing Starliner, before returning to Earth.
About The Author
