After a nearly month-long delay, NASA and its mission partners say it’s almost time to send two astronauts to the International Space Station for the Boeing Crew Flight Test. The historic launch, which was originally canceled on May 6 and June 1 and postponed multiple times in between, will be the first time humans have flown aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Here’s everything you need to know about the historic Starliner mission set to launch on Wednesday. >>> Click here to watch live feeds. About the mission: In this mission, two NASA astronauts will travel to the International Space Station in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which will sit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Officials say it will take about a week for the astronauts to get there. The purpose of the mission is to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems, including maneuvering and docking, before NASA can certify the spacecraft for rotational missions. When is the launch? The Starliner mission is scheduled to lift off at 10:52 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5. Where is the launch? The launch of the Atlas V rocket and the Starliner spacecraft will take place from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Who are the astronauts? The flight test by the Boeing crew will be the first time humans have traveled aboard the Starliner, which has previously flown without passengers. Two veteran NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, will be on board. Wilmore will be the mission commander and has been a NASA astronaut since July 2000. He is a veteran of two space flights. Williams will be the pilot of the mission and has been a NASA astronaut since 1998. She is a veteran of two space missions. Both astronauts went home after multiple mission delays, but returned to Central Florida last week for the canceled June 1 launch attempt. As of last check Wednesday morning, the two astronauts were in place in the spacecraft. The pair will spend eight days on the International Space Station if all goes according to plan. Why was the mission postponed? When the initial mission was called off on May 6, officials cited the cause as a mechanical problem involving the Atlas V rocket’s “self-adjusting liquid oxygen solenoid valve on the top of the Centaur.” Officials returned the rocket to its vertical integration facility on the station of the Space Force at Cape Canaveral and successfully replaced the pressure control valve that prevents the oxygen tank from building up too much pressure. The launch was moved to May 17 to allow for more testing, but was pushed back to May 21 when Boeing said Starliner crews were working to fix a small helium leak found in the spacecraft’s service module. The launch was then pushed back to May 25, when officials announced they again needed more time to resolve the issue. Ultimately, officials said they would abandon the May 25 launch attempt altogether. The launch was on indefinite hold until officials said they were prepared for a June 1 launch attempt. Last week, the mission partners moved forward with plans for that launch and rolled the Atlas V rocket onto the pad for the first time since the initial cleanup. On Saturday, the countdown was going smoothly when suddenly officials cleaned the launch just minutes before takeoff. The sudden scrub was due to a failure of some of the ground support equipment. ULA said their crews worked through the night to identify the problem and were able to replace a faulty power system in their ground operations computers. At last check, ULA said the system was now functioning normally after a number of functional checks. Where can I watch the launch in person? There will be multiple viewing areas to experience the launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Some include: Playalinda BeachSpace Launch Complex 1Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Max Brewer BridgePort CanaveralKelly ParkCocoa Beach pier. To learn more about all private viewing locations, click here. Where can I watch the launch online? WESH 2 will be streaming the entire launch from wesh .com, our free WESH 2 app and on WESH Facebook. The free WESH 2 app is available on the iTunes App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices.
After a nearly month-long delay, NASA and its mission partners say it’s almost time to send two astronauts to the International Space Station for the Boeing Crew Flight Test.
The historic launch, which was initially called off on May 6 and June 1 and delayed numerous times in between, will be the first time humans have flown aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Here’s everything you need to know about the historic Starliner mission that will launch on Wednesday.
>>> Click here to watch live feeds.
About the mission:
In this mission, two NASA astronauts will travel to the International Space Station in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which will sit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Officials say it will take the astronauts about a week to get there.
The purpose of the mission is to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems, including maneuvering and docking, before NASA can certify the spacecraft for rotational missions.
When is the start?
The Starliner mission is scheduled to lift off at 10:52 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5.
Where is the launch?
The launch of the Atlas V rocket and the Starliner spacecraft will take place from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Who are the astronauts?
The flight test by the Boeing crew will be the first time humans have traveled aboard the Starliner, which has previously flown without passengers.
Two veteran NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, will be on board.
Wilmore will be the mission commander and has been a NASA astronaut since July 2000. He is a veteran of two space flights.
Williams will be the pilot of the mission and has been a NASA astronaut since 1998. She is a veteran of two space missions.
Both astronauts went home after multiple mission delays, but returned to Central Florida last week for the clean-up June 1 launch attempt.
At last check on Wednesday morning, both astronauts were in place in the spacecraft.
The pair will spend eight days on the International Space Station if all goes according to plan.
Why was the mission delayed?
When the initial cleanup was called for on May 6, officials listed the cause as a mechanical problem involving “a self-regulating liquid oxygen solenoid valve on the Centaur upper stage” on the Atlas V rocket.
Officials returned the rocket back to the Vertical Integration Facility at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and successfully replaced the pressure control valve that prevents the oxygen tank from building up too much pressure.
The launch was moved to May 17 to allow for more testing, but was pushed back to May 21 when Boeing said Starliner crews were working to fix a small helium leak found in the spacecraft’s service module.
The launch was then pushed back to May 25, when officials announced they again needed more time to resolve the issue.
Ultimately, officials said they would abandon the May 25 launch attempt altogether.
The launch was delayed indefinitely while officials said they were prepared for a June 1 launch attempt.
Last week, the mission partners moved forward with plans for that launch and moved the Atlas V rocket onto the pad for the first time since the initial cleanup.
On Saturday, the countdown was going smoothly when suddenly officials cleaned the launch just minutes before takeoff. The sudden scrap was due to a failure of some of the ground support equipment.
ULA said their crews worked through the night to identify the problem and were able to replace a faulty power system in their ground operations computers.
At last check, ULA said the system was now operating normally after a number of functionality checks.
Where can I watch the launch in person?
There will be multiple viewing areas to experience the launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Some include:
- Playa Linda Beach
- Space Launch Complex 1
- Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
- Max Brewer Bridge
- Port Canaveral
- Kelly Park
- Cocoa Beach Pier
To learn more about all private viewing locations, click here.
Where can I watch the launch online?
WESH 2 will stream the entire launch from wesh.com, our free WESH 2 app and on WESH Facebook.
The free WESH 2 app is available on the iTunes App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices.
