NASA and Boeing Prepare for Historic Starliner Launch
by Clarence Oxford
Space Coast FL (SPX) Apr 26, 2024

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both retired U.S. Navy captains, arrived at Kennedy Space Center's Launch and Landing Facility in Florida on April 25. They traveled from Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston aboard a T-38 jet, echoing their naval aviation days.

This arrival marks their participation in NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test, where they will be the initial crew to board Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket destined for the International Space Station.

The agency recently completed its Flight Test Readiness Review and is moving forward with the mission's planned launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, to the International Space Station. This mission is pivotal for transporting astronauts Wilmore and Williams to the station and marks the first crewed flight to validate the Starliner and its systems for regular crew rotation missions.

A mission dress rehearsal is set for April 26. During this, Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as pilot, will simulate launch day operations. They will don their spacesuits, exit the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, and board Boeing's Astrovan for the journey to the spacecraft. The rehearsal will cover countdown scenarios and other pre-launch procedures, including securing the crew module and performing system checks with the support teams.

This mission will be the inaugural launch of astronauts aboard a Starliner on an Atlas V rocket. They are scheduled to spend approximately a week at the space station, after which the capsule will return to Earth, landing in the southwestern United States using parachutes and airbags for a gentle descent.

Following a successful mission, NASA will proceed with the final steps to certify the Starliner and its systems for future crewed missions to and from the space station. The Starliner capsule, 15 feet in diameter and equipped with both automatic and manual control capabilities, can transport up to four astronauts or a combination of crew and cargo for NASA's low Earth orbit missions.

The planned liftoff is set for 10:34 p.m. on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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