NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for a historic launch on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft scheduled for May 6, aiming for a week-long mission at the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams landed on April 25, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a short flight from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Paying homage to their piloting days as retired U.S. Navy captains, they flew to Kennedy in a T-38 jet.
As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch aboard the company’s Starliner spacecraft on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station.
Shortly after 1 p.m. EDT, NASA leaders held a brief welcome ceremony and short news conference with the following participants:
- Jennifer Kunz, associate director, NASA Kennedy
- Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore
- NASA astronaut Suni Williams
NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Associate Director Jennifer Kunz and NASA Commercial Crew Program Deputy Manager Dana Hutcherson participate in a media event at the Florida spaceport on Thursday, April 25, 2024, upon the arrival of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. As part of the NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6. The Atlas V will lift off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland
Meanwhile, NASA, Boeing, and ULA representatives participated in the agency’s Flight Test Readiness Review at NASA Kennedy. The two-day event, which concluded on April 25, verified the mission readiness, including all systems, facilities, and teams that will support the launch.
Next up is a mission dress rehearsal on Friday, April 26, for NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance). Wilmore and Williams, commander and pilot, will mimic launch day operations. The astronauts load in their spacesuits, walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, and get into Boeing’s Astrovan to travel to the spacecraft. Teams will practice countdown scenarios, prep Starliner’s crew module for flight, close the hatch, and conduct readiness polls of managers and engineers.
Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner on an Atlas V rocket. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.
After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit.
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