In high-stakes test, Boeing will launch NASA astronauts into space for the first time

After years of delays, Boeing is finally ready to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on its Starliner spacecraft.

The capsule is scheduled to lift off on Monday at 10:34 pm ET atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams will drive the Starliner on its inaugural crewed flight — a crucial final test before NASA can authorize Boeing to conduct routine flights to and from the space station for the agency.

The stakes are high. This will be Boeing’s first launch with humans aboard its spacecraft, and comes after years of delays, technical setbacks and significant budget overruns. If successful, the flight will allow Boeing to challenge the dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which transports NASA astronauts. to and from orbit advanced post since 2020.

Both companies’ spacecraft were developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was established after its space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011. The goal: to encourage and help fund the creation of new, commercially built vehicles capable of of flying to and from low Earth orbit. .

In a pre-flight briefing last week, Wilmore said that safety is paramount and that previous Starliner launch attempts – both uncrewed and crewed – had been delayed because the capsule simply wasn’t ready until now.

“Why do we think it’s as safe as possible? We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t,” Wilmore told reporters.

Still, there are risks inherent to any new spacecraft or rocket.

“Do we expect everything to go perfectly? This is the first human spacecraft flight,” Wilmore said. “I’m sure we’ll figure things out. That’s why we do this. This is a test flight.”

The plan is for the astronauts to dock at the space station the next day and spend about a week there before returning to Earth and landing at the Starliner’s main landing site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Although NASA astronauts have been flying aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for years, the agency doesn’t want to rely on a single company, said Makena Young, a researcher with the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

“Having this second option is really important because it adds redundancy and resiliency,” Young said. “In space systems, there are always redundancies, because if something goes wrong, you want to make sure you have backups.”

Boeing’s journey to this first manned flight has been turbulent. In 2019, the Starliner’s unmanned debut was halted after software glitches prevented the capsule from attempting to dock with the space station. Subsequent fuel valve problems caused several delays before Boeing could successfully demonstrate in 2022 that the Starliner could dock at the the ISS and return to Earth.

Earlier this year, Boeing’s aviation arm came under fire after a The panel broke mid-flight on one of its 737 Max 9 planes. This major accident increased scrutiny across the company and likely raised the stakes for Starliner’s next flight, Young said.

“Having a successful launch will be an incredibly important reminder of [Boeing’s] capabilities,” she said. “They will be able to show that they are a reliable operator capable of completing difficult missions and continuing to innovate.”

Young added that the challenges Boeing has faced in getting the Starliner to this point show how difficult human spaceflight can be.

“I think we forget because we’ve been doing this for decades, but space is still a very difficult environment,” she said. “In fact, it is very difficult to take off successfully.”

Williams said she and Wilmore have confidence in the Starliner program and the mission ahead.

“We feel very safe and comfortable when this spacecraft flies,” Williams told reporters earlier this week. “This is where we should be.”

This article was originally published in NBCNews. with