Boeing's Starliner set for historic launch that will take two NASA astronauts into space

By James Rogers

Monday's launch of the first crewed Starliner mission marks an important milestone for NASA and Boeing

Boeing Co.'s Starliner spacecraft is set to make its first crewed flight to the International Space Station on Monday, carrying two NASA astronauts to the orbiting space lab.

The first crewed Starliner mission has faced a number of delays in recent years, so Monday's launch will mark an important milestone for NASA, Boeing (BA) and their partners.

Starliner will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams when it launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket late Monday. The launch is planned for 10:34 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41.

"Everything continues to progress towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the first crewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft for NASA's Commercial Crew Program," according to a statement Sunday from ULA, which is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT). Sunday's forecast shows a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch, ULA said.

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Monday's Starliner launch is what is known as an "instantaneous" launch, which means that liftoff is scheduled precisely for 10:34 pm.

NASA's Commercial Crew Program partners with the private space industry in the U.S. to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

During the Starliner test flight, mission commander Wilmore and pilot Williams will work with Boeing to test the "end-to-end capabilities" of Starliner, from prelaunch to docking at the ISS and from undocking to landing and recovery, according to Boeing. "Following a successful test, NASA will work to complete certification of the Starliner spacecraft and systems for regular crew rotation missions to the space station," Boeing said on its website.

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In 2019, an uncrewed Starliner made its first test flight to the ISS, but docking with the space station was canceled because of an incorrectly set clock on the capsule. The second uncrewed flight test, Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2, successfully reached the orbiting space lab and returned to Earth in 2022.

ULA was set up as a joint venture in 2006. Since then, the company's Delta and Atlas rockets have been used to send more than 150 missions into orbit.

In January, Astrobotic Technology's commercial Peregrine moon lander successfully launched atop ULA's first Vulcan rocket, the successor to its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets. However, a propellant leak in the spacecraft ended the mission's chances of landing on the moon.

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Boeing shares, which have fallen 31% in 2024, ended Friday's session up 0.5%. Lockheed Martin's stock, which is up 1.9% this year, closed down 0.3% Friday.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is also working closely with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The company's Crew Dragon spacecraft has flown several crewed missions to the International Space Station atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Crew-8 mission, which launched March 3, 2024, is SpaceX's eighth crew-rotation mission and its ninth flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 mission in May 2020.

SpaceX launched the third flight test of its giant Starship and Super Heavy rocket in March. The uncrewed Starship successfully achieved orbital insertion, coasted into space and re-entered Earth's atmosphere before SpaceX lost contact with the spacecraft.

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The largest rocket ever built, Starship provides more than twice the thrust of the Saturn V rockets that took astronauts to the moon. Together, Starship and the Super Heavy rocket are 396 feet high, taller than the Statue of Liberty or NASA's Saturn V rocket.

Starship is designed to play a key role in returning humans to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program, as well as in future Mars exploration. The spacecraft and rocket - collectively referred to as "Starship" and designed to carry both crew and cargo - can carry up to 150 metric tons fully reusable and 250 metric tons expendable, according to SpaceX.

-James Rogers

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05-06-24 0848ET

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