The crew for the inaugural Boeing Starliner space mission arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, in preparation for the spacecraft’s first manned mission on May 6.
NASA has selected veteran astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams to serve as the commander and pilot, respectively, for the Crew Flight Test mission to the International Space Station.
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is scheduled for liftoff on May 6th, riding atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The CFT mission faced a delay of approximately four years due to several issues with the Starliner. Despite resolving the previous problems, Wilmore and Williams anticipate encountering new challenges during the 11-day mission leading up to the launch.
“After arriving on the tarmac in a two-seat T-38 jet used for training, Wilmore expressed his thoughts on the first human flight with the spacecraft. He acknowledged that perfection may not be attainable and anticipated that there would be lessons learned along the way.”
“We engage in test flights precisely for this reason. This particular flight serves as a test, and in tests, it is natural to encounter unexpected findings. Our team anticipates discovering such occurrences.”
After conducting two uncrewed flights to establish protocols and test them in flight simulators, Boeing and NASA are now preparing for the upcoming launch of their first crewed flight.
“We faced a myriad of challenges during a recent simulation, but we managed to handle them all successfully,” Williams shared confidently. “I have complete faith not only in our skills and the capabilities of our spacecraft, but also in our mission control team. They are fully prepared for any obstacles that come our way and are eager to take them on.”
In 2019, the initial attempt of the uncrewed Starliner mission to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) was unsuccessful. However, Boeing took significant measures to improve the program, implementing extensive software and hardware modifications. As a result, they carried out a successful uncrewed flight in 2022.
Starliner’s first crewed mission has been delayed by four years due to additional hardware problems, including issues with the main parachutes and wiring.
SpaceX has successfully transported a total of 50 individuals to space on 13 separate missions using their fleet of Crew Dragon spacecraft.
NASA has awarded contracts to two companies, Boeing and SpaceX, as part of its Commercial Crew Program. The goal of this program is to ensure that the United States maintains its capability for space travel following the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Boeing’s contract for its Starliner spacecraft is worth $4.2 billion, while SpaceX’s contract is valued at $2.6 billion.
Wilmore, on Thursday, expressed his belief that it is now Starliner’s moment to shine.
“We are fully prepared and poised for this momentous occasion. Our spacecraft is primed and ready, and our dedicated teams are fully prepared,” he confidently affirmed.
Boeing’s CFT mission is scheduled to spend eight days aboard the ISS, during which the crew will conduct tests on both the docking backup systems during approach and the landing operations upon returning to Earth.
If the CFT flight is successful, Starliner-1, the first operational mission of Starliner, is scheduled to launch in early 2025. It will spend six months on board the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA astronauts Scott Tingle and Mike Fincke, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, will be on board Starliner-1.
Boeing has been awarded a contract for six crew rotation missions that will run until the International Space Station’s projected end of operations in 2030. As part of the agreement, SpaceX and Boeing will each contribute one mission per year until the ISS is decommissioned.
