Editor’s note: This version was updated on 5 June 2024 to include instructions on how to attend the post-docking briefing on Thursday 6 June.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely in orbit during the first pilot flight test aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.
As part of a flight test by NASA’s Boeing crew, the astronauts lifted off at 10:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. -final test of the Starliner system.
“Two brave NASA astronauts are well on their way to this historic first test flight of a brand new spacecraft,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Boeing Starliner marks a new chapter in American exploration. Human spaceflight is an audacious task – but that’s why it’s worth doing. This is an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners, and the future of exploration. Go Starliner, Go Butch and Suni!”
The flight test, part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, will help verify the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, operational capabilities in orbit and return to Earth with astronauts on board as the agency prepares to certify the Starliner for rotary missions to space stations. The Starliner had previously performed two uncrewed orbital flights, including a test to and from the space station, along with a pad abort demonstration.
“With the launch of the Starliner, separation from the rocket and arrival in orbit, Boeing’s crewed flight test is on track,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s commercial crew program. “Everyone is focused on making sure Suni and Butch ride safely, comfortably and have a successful test mission from start to finish.”
During the Starliner’s flight, Boeing will monitor a series of automated spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Houston. NASA teams will monitor space station operations during the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“The Starliner flight crew represents more than a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA,” said Steve Stich, commercial crew program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For many of us, this is a career-defining moment that brings new crew transportation opportunities for our agency and our country. We’ll take it one step at a time, test the Starliner, and remain vigilant until Butch and Suni land safely back on Earth at the end of this test flight.”
Starliner will dock autonomously at the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, and will remain in the orbiting laboratory for about a week.
Wilmore and Williams will help verify that the spacecraft is operating as intended, including testing the environmental control system, displays and control system, and maneuvering the thrusters, among other things, during flight.
After arriving safely at the space station, Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
NASA’s coverage of arrivals and in-flight events is as follows (all Eastern times and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Mission coverage will continue on NASA TV channels throughout the Starliner’s flight and will continue on NASA+ prior to landing.
Thursday, June 6
9:30 a.m. – The arrival begins on NASA+, the NASA app and YouTube, and continues on NASA TV and agency website.
12:15 – Targeted docking
14:00 – hatch opening
14:20 – Welcome speech
15:30 – Post-docking press conference at NASA Johnson with the following participants:
- NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
- Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager
- Jeff Arend, Systems Engineering and Integration Manager, NASA’s International Space Station Office
- Mark Nappi, Vice President and Program Manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
Coverage of the post-dock press conference will be streamed live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and agency website.
To attend the post-dock briefing, US media must contact NASA Johnson at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111 by 1:00 p.m. Thursday, June 6. To join by phone, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 3 p.m. Thursday, June 6.
5:50 p.m. – NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Deputy Administrator Jim Free, Assistant Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche will talk with Wilmore and Williams about their launch aboard the Starliner spacecraft.
Coverage of the Earth-to-Space call will be streamed live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and more agency website.
Saturday, June 8
8:50 a.m. – NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams provide a tour of the Starliner.
Coverage of the in-orbit event will be streamed live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and agency website.
Monday, June 10
11:00 a.m. – Williams will speak to students at Sunita L. Williams Elementary School in Needham, Mass. at an event aboard the space station.
Coverage of the Earth-to-Space call will be streamed live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and more agency website.
Tuesday, June 11
3:15 pm – Wilmore will speak to students from Tennessee Tech University at an event aboard the space station.
Coverage of the Earth-to-Space call will be streamed live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and more agency website.
Meet the NASA crew
Wilmore is the mission commander. Wilmore, a veteran of two space flights, has 178 days in space. In 2009, he served as pilot aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis for mission STS-129. In addition, Wilmore served as the flight engineer for Expedition 41 until November 2014, when he assumed command of the space station following the arrival of the Expedition 42 crew. He returned to Earth the following March. Before being selected by NASA in 2000, the father of two earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, before graduating from another a master’s degree in aeronautics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is also a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland, and completed four operational deployments during his time as a naval officer and aviator.
Williams is a flight test spacecraft pilot. Williams spent 322 days in space during two missions: Expedition 14/15 from 2006 to 2007 and Expedition 32/33 in 2012. The Massachusetts native also made seven spacewalks, totaling 50 hours and 40 minutes. Before her career began at NASA in 1998, Williams graduated with her degree in physical science from the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, before earning it in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne. In total, she logged more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has achieved its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station through partnerships with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low Earth orbit and the space station to more people, science and commercial opportunities. The space station remains a springboard for NASA’s next big leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon under Artemis and eventually to Mars.
For more information on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/ commercialcrew
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Josh Finch / Jimi Russell / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
Steven Siceloff, Danielle Sempsrott, Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center in Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.sicoff@nasa.gov / danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
Leah Cheshire
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov