Boeing seeks first launch of NASA astronauts on Starliner spacecraft – Telemundo 52

• Boeing aims to launch its first Starliner flight with astronauts on board on Saturday, in a long-delayed final test of the spacecraft.
• Launch is scheduled for 12:25 pm EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• The Starliner crew debut has been delayed for years, and SpaceX’s competing Dragon capsule has been carrying astronauts for NASA regularly since 2020.

Boeing aims to launch its first Starliner flight with astronauts on board on Saturday, in a long-delayed final test of the spacecraft.

Launch is scheduled for 12:25 pm EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Two NASA astronauts will be aboard the Starliner capsule, which will be carried by United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station.

NASA and Boeing canceled a launch attempt in early May due to a problem detected in the rocket. ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, replaced the rocket’s problematic valve.

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After canceling the May attempt, NASA and Boeing found a “small” helium leak on Starliner, forcing the agency and company to conduct another series of evaluations. After analysis, NASA and Boeing believe the source of the leak is in the spacecraft’s helium propulsion system. But officials said last week that the leak is “stable” and “not a flight safety issue.”

The debut of the Starliner crew has been delayed for years, and SpaceX’s competing Dragon capsule has been carrying astronauts for NASA regularly since 2020 under the agency’s commercial crew program. To date, Boeing has consumed $1.5 billion in costs due to Starliner setbacks and nearly $5 billion in NASA development funds.

The spacecraft was once seen as a competitor to SpaceX’s Dragon. However, several setbacks and delays have pushed Starliner into a backup position for NASA, and the agency took the rare step of reassigning astronauts from Boeing’s first crewed flights in 2021. Boeing has a contract to fly six Starliner operational missions to the ISS. Saturday’s crewed flight test represents the last major step before receiving NASA certification to begin regular missions.

the astronauts

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams fly in Starliner, the former being the commander of the spacecraft and the latter the pilot.

Wilmore joined NASA in 2020 and has flown in space twice previously on the space shuttle and Russia’s Soyuz. Prior to NASA, Wilmore was a US Navy pilot.

Williams was selected by NASA in 1998 and has also flown into space twice before, on the space shuttle and then on the Soyuz. Williams was also a Navy pilot like Wilmore before joining the space agency.

The rocket and the capsule.

Starliner launches on ULA’s Atlas V. The rocket debuted in 2002 and the Starliner crew flight test marks its 100th launch.

The capsule itself is built to carry up to four NASA astronauts per flight and more than 200 pounds of research and cargo. The spacecraft lands using a parachute and airbag system. Starliner is reusable and each capsule is designed to carry out up to 10 missions.

The mission

Boeing’s crewed flight test aims to certify that the Starliner system is capable of transporting NASA astronauts to and from the ISS.

If Starliner launches on Saturday, it will fly into space for about 25 hours before docking with the International Space Station at 1:50 p.m. Sunday. The astronauts will then spend about a week on the ISS, focused on testing Starliner, before returning to Earth.