The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket booster separates from the Centaur upper stage carrying Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Photo credit: NASA Television
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket booster has separated from the Centaur upper stage carrying Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The Centaur will continue to help propel Boeing’s Starliner to a suborbit before the spacecraft boosts itself to orbit, bringing it closer to the International Space Station.
Measuring 10 feet in diameter and 41.5 feet in length, the Centaur upper stage uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its twin Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10A-4-2 engines. The burn of the Centaur’s dual engines is expected to last a little more than seven minutes before engine cutoff and separation from Starliner. Following separation, the crew capsule carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be on its own for the remainder of the journey to the space station.
Following its separation, the Atlas Centaur will land in the ocean near Australia.
NASA Television will provide continuous coverage leading up to docking at the space station and through hatch opening and welcome remarks.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying Boeing’s Starliner capsule with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams has reached Max Q. The milestone is the moment of peak aerodynamic pressure on the rocket.
Following Max Q will be Atlas V booster engine cutoff and separation.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket soars from the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:52 a.m. ET Wednesday, June 5, 2024, carrying a Boeing Starliner spacecraft for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA Television
We have liftoff! The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, commander, and Suni Williams, pilot, are on a course to the International Space Station.
The crew is on a roughly 25.5-hour journey with rendezvous and docking expected at 12:15 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 6.
The crew flight test mission makes history in several ways. As the first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, Williams is the first female astronaut to fly on the first flight of a crewed spacecraft. The launch also marks the first crewed launch on the ULA Atlas V rocket and the first crewed launch on an Atlas-family class rocket since Gordon Cooper on the last Mercury program flight aboard “Faith 7” in May 1963.
Next up is Max Q, or the moment of peak aerodynamic pressure on the rocket.
Launch coverage on NASA+ will end shortly after Starliner orbital insertion, happening about 30 minutes from now. NASA Television will provide continuous coverage leading up to docking at the space station and through hatch opening and welcome remarks.
The crew access arm retracts from Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
We’re just minutes away from liftoff of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test that will send NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
At Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the crew access arm has retracted on the crew access tower.
The crew access arm lines up with the hatch of Boeing’s Starliner capsule, and it’s designed to rotate and retract at various speeds. The arm provides entry and emergency egress for astronauts and technicians into and out of the spacecraft.
Liftoff of Boeing’s Starliner on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket remains on schedule for 10:52 a.m. EDT.
Boeing crews close the hatch to the Starliner capsule carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Photo credit: NASA Television
Just about one hour remains ahead of liftoff of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station.
Communication checks with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are complete. The hatch is now closed on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, named Calypso. Next up, a series of cabin leak checks and a cabin pressurization check will be completed.
For NASA missions to low Earth orbit, the Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m), will hold four astronauts or a mix of crew and cargo.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore inside Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft ahead of launch on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
Inside Starliner for this mission is about 759 pounds of cargo, which includes food, clothing, exercise gear, medical supplies, photo and media equipment, vehicle supplies and tools, and other items. A thumb drive containing about 3,500 images of artwork from children in 35 states and 66 different countries is also set to launch aboard Starliner tonight.
Wilmore is flying with two gold rings he had made for his father and brother that resemble the U.S. Navy astronaut pilot wing pin. He also brought shirts from his alma maters, Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee. Williams brought shirts from the U.S. Naval Academy and the Sunita L. Williams Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts. She also has a diver pin and two dog tags from her Labrador retrievers.
At 10:52 a.m. EDT, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the Starliner crew capsule from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Following a roughly 25-hour journey, Starliner will rendezvous and dock with the space station at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, June 6.
Watch live coverage of today’s mission on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and a United Launch Alliance technician stand near the crew access arm at Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
We’re less than three hours away from NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams heading to the International Space Station.
Wilmore and Williams just arrived at the crew access tower at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and will soon head into the White Room. The environmentally controlled chamber at the outer end of the access arm platform is where astronauts prepare to enter Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
The astronauts also made some last minute phone calls before launch.
While in the White Room, the crew will make any last-minute adjustments before launch. Technicians also will complete a series of checkouts before Wilmore enters the capsule, followed by Williams.
The Starliner spacecraft is set to launch at 10:52 a.m. EDT on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Weather continues to hold at 90% chance of favorable conditions for liftoff.
Follow the mission blog for the most up-to-date operations as launch milestones occur. Watch NASA’s mission coverage on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA Television
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, commander, and Suni Williams, pilot, are suited up and on their way to the launch pad for today’s launch.
The duo spent about an hour putting on their suits and completing suit leak checks inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After suit-up and final fit checks, NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore enter the elevator in the Astronaut Crew Quarters on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, inside Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building in Florida.
After departing the building, Wilmore and Williams waved to family and friends waiting outside before loading into Boeing’s Astrovan. The nine-mile drive will take the astronauts to the launch pad at nearby Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Wilmore and Williams are the first crew to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff to the International Space Station is scheduled for 10:52 a.m. EDT. The crew is expected to arrive at the orbiting laboratory for rendezvous and docking at 12:15 p.m., Thursday, June 6.
Wilmore and Williams will spend about a week at the space station before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.
Once the flight test is complete, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for regular human spaceflight launches.
The crew flight test mission makes history in several ways. Williams is the first female astronaut to fly on the first flight of a crewed spacecraft. The mission also marks the first crewed launch on the ULA Atlas V rocket, and the first crewed launch on an Atlas-family class rocket since Gordon Cooper on the last Mercury program flight aboard “Faith 7” in May 1963.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen during sunrise on the launch pad of Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Photo credit: NASA Television
In less than four hours, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are set to lift off at 10:52 a.m. EDT aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Here is a look at some key milestones leading up to today’s launch:
Time Event (All times approximate and subject to change)
6:02 a.m.Flight crew begins suit-up operations 7:28 a.m.Crew walkout from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building 7:32 a.m.Crew departs, travels to Space Launch Complex-41 8:02 a.m.Crew arrives at pad, ascends tower, enters White Room, and enters Starliner capsule separately 9:27 a.m.Hatch closure and leak checks 9:42 a.m.Hatch closure complete 9:51 a.m.Configure White Room for launch 10:15 a.m.Clear for launch check 10:41 a.m.Crew access arm retracts 10:52 a.m.Liftoff! 10:53 a.m.ULA rocket reaches Max Q 10:56 a.m.Atlas V booster separates 11:07 a.m.Boeing Starliner separates 11:23 a.m.Orbital insertion burn
Starliner will autonomously dock to the station on Thursday, June 6, and remain at the orbiting laboratory for about a week. Although Starliner is designed to dock autonomously, the astronauts aboard the spacecraft will demonstrate manual control processes and capabilities before the spacecraft makes its automated final approach.
Stay tuned for more updates on the commercial crew blog as the countdown to launch continues.
From left, NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore perform checks of their Boeing spacesuits in the crew suit-up room inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are being outfitted in their Boeing spacesuits inside the crew suit-up roomat the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as preparations continue for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.
The Boeing Starliner suits are specifically tailored for this launch and are 40% lighter than previous spacesuits worn by NASA astronauts.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronaut Butch Wilmore checks his Boeing spacesuit in the crew suit-up room inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
The astronauts say they’re feeling optimistic about today’s launch.
Once suited, Wilmore and Williams usually play the ritual card game that occurs before any human spaceflight mission launching from the Florida spaceport. The point of the game is that the commander must use up all his or her bad luck before the launch, so the crew can only leave for the launch pad once the commander loses. However during today’s game, they played rock, paper, scissors.
The duo have been in quarantine for more than a month.
Launch is scheduled for 10:52 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
NASA’s mission coverage is underway on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen during sunrise on the launch pad of Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Photo credit: NASA Television
NASA’s coverage of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is underway on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will send two of the agency’s astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Butch Wilmore, commander, and Suni Williams, pilot, will launch aboard Starliner on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket at 10:52 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The crew flight test is Boeing’s second flight to the International Space Station and third Starliner flight test overall, following Orbital Flight Test-2, an uncrewed mission in May 2022, and Orbital Flight Test, an uncrewed mission in December 2019.
The crew flight test mission makes history in several ways. As the first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, Williams is the first female astronaut to fly on the first flight of a crewed spacecraft. The launch also marks the first crewed launch on the ULA Atlas V rocket and the first crewed launch on an Atlas-family class rocket since Gordon Cooper on the last Mercury program flight aboard “Faith 7” in May 1963.
