Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are getting ready to blast off into space Monday on the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, according to NASA.
Wilmore, the flight commander, and Williams, the pilot, were expected to take the craft to the International Space Station last summer. However, major issues with the craft resulted in a delay, as reported by Ars Technica.
Boeing has also made headlines recently for issues related to its commercial jets. So far this year, two whistleblowers who exposed alleged manufacturing defects suddenly died, Audacy reported this week.
As far as the (CST)-100 Starliner goes, NASA said Friday that it, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) officials discussed final prelaunch details to send to the two astronauts. Wilmore and Williams are expected to dock at the ISS next Wednesday for a weeklong stay.
“We are going to have a whole new adventure. This is very much a part of our exploration of space and what I call the ‘golden age of space exploration,’” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “It’s a historical day. It’s a wonderful day.”
Wilmore and Williams are expected to return to Earth during a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.
“It’s exciting to bring Starliner and a United launch Alliance Atlas vehicle online,” said Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We have been striving for commercial crew to have two independent space transportation systems. That’s been our goal from commercial crew since its inception, and we’re very close to reaching that goal with the launch on Monday.”
According to Reuters, the Starliner trip is Boeing’s “long-delayed chance to score a badly needed win as it struggles to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX,” and the project is the latest product of NASA’s commercial learning model.
Brian Cizek, launch weather officer with the 45th Weather Squadron, said the astronauts can expect a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. NASA said a rule regarding cumulus clouds is the launch’s primary weather concern.
According to NASA, ULA completed its Launch Readiness Review Friday and the Starliner crew has a “go” to proceed toward launch at 10:34 p.m.
EDT Monday from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
“The first crewed flight of a new spacecraft is an absolutely critical milestone,” NASA associate administrator Jim Free told reporters in a pre-launch news conference, per Reuters. “The lives of our crew members, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, are at stake.”
Williams is a 58-year-old former Naval test pilot with experience flying over 30 different aircraft, said the outlet. She’s logged 322 days in space over two missions since her first flight in 2007. Wilmore, 61, is a retired Navy captain. He’s logged 178 days in space since his first of two space missions in 2009.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team. We’re at peak performance right now and we are really excited to execute this launch. We’re ready to go,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing.