A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with a Boeing Starliner spacecraft on board is launched onto the launch pad ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, set for Saturday, June 1.
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The summer spaceflight season is already off to a rough start.
After years of delays, NASA is preparing to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a new spacecraft built by Boeing.
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are scheduled to lift off at 12:25 p.m. ET on Saturday aboard the Boeing Starliner en route to the International Space Station. The departure will come about a month after the Starliner was originally scheduled to arrive at the station, and the launch was already years behind schedule.
But in a twist familiar to many air travelers here on Earth, the astronauts’ luggage gets left behind. Boeing is not responsible for lost luggage. The space station’s urine recycling system broke down earlier this week, and NASA had to make room to send up a new pump.
“We ended up pulling out two crew trunks with clothes on them,” Dana Weigel, NASA’s International Space Station program manager, said during a press conference Friday.
Here’s what else you need to know about today’s launch.
It will be the first flight of the Starliner
In 2014, NASA awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion contract to build the Starliner as a vehicle to carry astronauts on routine missions to the International Space Station.
The Starliner program has since fallen well behind schedule and over budget. Boeing estimates the program has cost the company more than $1 billion in losses.
At the same time that NASA awarded the contract to Boeing, it gave SpaceX $2.6 billion to develop its Dragon capsule. The spacecraft completed its crewed test flight in 2020 and now regularly transports astronauts to the station.
Starliner is plagued by technical problems
Starliner failed to reach the ISS during its first mission in 2019. The cause was an incorrectly set onboard clock that caused the computer to start the capsule’s engines too soon. The spacecraft managed to reach the ISS during its second test flight in 2022, despite some thrusters not working as planned.
Boeing delayed the Starliner’s first crewed flight last year after company officials realized the duct tape used on hundreds of yards of wiring was potentially flammable and the capsule’s three parachutes were connected by cords that appeared to be weaker than expected.
Its final launch attempt on May 6 was called off due to a stuck valve on the Starliner launch vehicle. This valve was replaced, but engineers also discovered a small helium leak in one of the Starliner’s nozzles.
The leak is likely caused by a faulty seal, although engineers aren’t entirely sure. Still, after weeks of extensive analysis, they believe the Starliner can fly safely and with a leak.
However, today’s launch will be a significant milestone
Despite all the problems, today’s launch will likely still be a big milestone for both NASA and Boeing.
A successful test will pave the way for more Starliner flights, giving NASA two independent private spacecraft that can transport astronauts to the space station.
Assuming all goes well, the Starliner will dock with the space station and stay there for just over a week while Williams and Wilmore conduct numerous tests. It will then re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land at one of several locations in the western United States.
NPR’s Joe Hernandez contributed to this report.