Boeing Starliner Prepares For First Astronaut Flight Since Apollo 7

An Atlas V rocket was rolled out to its launch pad on May 4, coinciding with Star Wars Day, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which is set to embark on its first mission with astronauts. This historic event is scheduled to take place no earlier than May 6.

The launch window will open at 10:34 p.m. EDT on May 7, and viewers can watch the live coverage of the International Station (ISS) mission on NASA Television. The mission, known as Crew Flight Test (CFT), will have two experienced NASA astronauts and former U.S. Navy test pilots on board. Butch Wilmore will serve as the mission commander, while Suni Williams will be the pilot. The duo is currently in quarantine at the nearby Kennedy Space Center.

This launch marks a significant milestone in the space industry. The Starliner spacecraft is the first to carry astronauts from the Cape Canaveral side since the Apollo 7 mission in 1968. Additionally, no humans have flown on an Atlas rocket since Gordon Cooper's Mercury-Atlas 9 mission in 1963.If all goes according to plan, Boeing will join SpaceX in sending astronauts to the ISS for extended periods of time. Both companies were awarded commercial crew contracts by NASA in 2014. Although SpaceX has already completed 12 crewed missions to the ISS since 2020, Starliner has faced delays. The spacecraft's first ISS flight in December 2019 was plagued by computer glitches, and it wasn't until May 2022 that a successful second uncrewed test flight took place.

The CFT mission was originally expected to launch in 2023 but faced delays due to critical issues. Boeing addressed concerns related to the capsule's main parachutes and wiring covered in flammable tape. However, NASA and Boeing have assured the public that all necessary precautions have been taken and that the spacecraft is ready for launch.

Following the CFT mission, Starliner-1 is scheduled for its first operational mission in 2025. This mission will send at least three astronauts to the ISS, including NASA's Mike Fincke, NASA's Scott Tingle, and the Canadian Space Agency's Joshua Kutryk. NASA plans to alternate between SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner for crewed missions from U.S. soil, while Russia's Soyuz spacecraft will continue to be used for certain agency astronauts.

Although NASA intends to continue using these commercial crew vehicles beyond the lifetime of the ISS, the space station is expected to cease operations in 2030. Russia may pull out as early as 2028, and the timelines for these events are subject to change as countries work on developing their next-generation space programs.