NASA, Boeing gives green signal to Starliner’s 1st astronaut launch on June 1

The spacecraft, to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Indian-Origin Sunita Williams to the space station.

New Delhi: After several delays, NASA, and Boeing on Thursday gave a green signal to Starliner‘s maiden flight that will carry humans to space.

The spacecraft, aiming to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Indian-Origin Sunita Williams to the space station, is expected to fly on June 1 aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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“NASA and Boeing teams polled “go” to proceed with plans to launch the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station at 12.25 p.m. EDT Saturday, June 1,” the company said in a statement.

The mission officials have “verified launch readiness, including all systems, facilities, and teams supporting the test flight”, it added.

This comes after the historic launch planned on May 7 which was scrubbed two hours before liftoff due to a valve issue on the upper stage of the Atlas V rocket. Since then the mission slipped to May 10, and later May 21, and May 25 due to a helium leak.

Meanwhile, the company also noted a “backup launch opportunity on June 2, June 5, and June 6”.

NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams returned to Kennedy from Houston on May 28. They will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until Saturday’s launch, Boeing said.

The Crew Flight Test will send the astronauts to the International Space Station for about a week before returning to Earth aboard the reusable crew capsule.

The Starliner mission aims to carry astronauts and cargo for future NASA missions to low Earth orbit, and beyond.