In preparation for the first Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, Boeing on Tuesday delivered the Starliner spacecraft to the Vertical Integration Facility Space Launch Complex-41, which will be attached to ULA Launch's Atlas V rocket.
“Welcome to the world, Starliner! "BoeingSpace's Starliner spacecraft has departed the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASAKennedy before rolling into Ulalaunch's Vertical Integration Facility for upcoming crew flight tests," Boeing said in a post on X.com.
"The crewed flight test is targeted to launch no later than 10:34 p.m. on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral," NASA said in a blowout post.
The goal of CFT is to send NASA astronauts and test pilots Butch Wilmore and Sun Williams on a roughly 10-day mission that will demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system.
Boeing signed a contract with NASA's Commercial Crew Program in 2014 to send operational missions to the space station with Starliner.
However, it suffered several setbacks.
Its first unmanned orbital flight mission in 2019 did not go as planned, requiring another attempt before astronauts could be put on board for crewed flight testing. However, the capsule successfully repeated its mission in 2022.
Its crewed missions have also been repeatedly delayed.
If the spacecraft is successful in its first crewed mission, Starliner will be used to carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, to Earth orbit for NASA missions.
“Welcome to the world, Starliner! "BoeingSpace's Starliner spacecraft has departed the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASAKennedy before rolling into Ulalaunch's Vertical Integration Facility for upcoming crew flight tests," Boeing said in a post on X.com.
"The crewed flight test is targeted to launch no later than 10:34 p.m. on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral," NASA said in a blowout post.
The goal of CFT is to send NASA astronauts and test pilots Butch Wilmore and Sun Williams on a roughly 10-day mission that will demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system.
Boeing signed a contract with NASA's Commercial Crew Program in 2014 to send operational missions to the space station with Starliner.
However, it suffered several setbacks.
Its first unmanned orbital flight mission in 2019 did not go as planned, requiring another attempt before astronauts could be put on board for crewed flight testing. However, the capsule successfully repeated its mission in 2022.
Its crewed missions have also been repeatedly delayed.
If the spacecraft is successful in its first crewed mission, Starliner will be used to carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, to Earth orbit for NASA missions.