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, +0.53% 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 Friday from ULA, which is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT, -0.28%. Friday’s forecast shows a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch, ULA said.
In order to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program collaborates with the American private space industry.
Mission commander Wilmore and pilot Williams will collaborate with Boeing during the Starliner test flight to evaluate the “end-to-end capabilities” of Starliner, encompassing prelaunch, docking at the International Space Station, undocking, landing, and recovery. According to a statement from Boeing on their website, “NASA will work to complete certification of the Starliner spacecraft and systems for regular crew rotation missions to the space station following a successful test.”
An inaccurately set clock on the capsule prevented the unmanned Starliner from docking with the International Space Station (ISS) during its maiden test flight in 2019. Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2, the second unmanned flight test, was completed in 2022 with a successful return to Earth from the orbiting space lab.
In 2006, ULA was established as a joint venture. Since then, more than 150 missions have been launched into orbit using the company’s Atlas and Delta rockets.
The commercial Peregrine moon lander from Astrobotic Technologies launched successfully in January atop the first Vulcan rocket from ULA—a replacement for its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets. However, the mission’s chances of making a moon landing were dashed by a propellant leak in the spacecraft.
Boeing stock, which has dropped 31% in 2024, was up 0.5% at the end of Friday’s trading. The stock of Lockheed Martin closed 0.3% lower on Friday after rising 1.9% so far this year.
Additionally, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program collaborate closely. Riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has completed several crewed missions to the International Space Station. Launched on March 3, 2024, the Crew-8 mission marks SpaceX’s ninth astronaut flight and eighth crew rotation mission, including the May 2020 Demo-2 mission.
In March, SpaceX launched its massive Starship and Super Heavy rocket for their third flight test. Before SpaceX lost contact with the spacecraft, the unmanned Starship accomplished orbital insertion, coasted in space, and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.
Starship, the biggest rocket ever constructed, has a thrust that is more than twice as great as the Saturn V rockets that launched humans to the moon. Together, Starship and the Super Heavy rocket stand 396 feet tall, which is higher than both NASA’s Saturn V rocket and the Statue of Liberty.
Starship is intended to be a vital component of NASA’s Artemis program, which will bring people back to the moon, as well as future Mars exploration. According to SpaceX, the spacecraft and rocket, together known as “Starship,” are built to accommodate both crew and cargo. They have a maximum capacity of 150 metric tons for fully reusable materials and 250 metric tons for expendable materials.
