Currently, Boeing’s first Starliner to carry astronauts is set to launch into orbit on Monday at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 May 7 GMT) atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The mission will launch NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams on a week-long test flight to the space station, a shakedown cruise Boeing calls its Crew Flight Test, or CFT.
If all goes well, Boeing’s Starliner will launch the astronauts to the space station, dock on Wednesday (May 8) and return to Earth up to eight days later with a landing in the desert of the southwestern United States (previous uncrewed test flights landed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico). NASA has picked Boeing’s Starliner as one of two astronaut taxis for space station flights — SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is the other — but this CFT test flight is years overdue, and follows two uncrewed Starliner flights.
“This will give us that additional capabilities because we always look for a backup,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters in a press conference on Friday (May 3). On Friday, Boeing and NASA agreed Starliner is ready to carry its first astronauts and gave the go ahead for launch, so here’s when and how to watch it fly on May 6.
WHAT TIME IS BOEING’S CFT STARLINER LAUNCH?
Currently, Boeing’s CFT Starliner is scheduled to launch to the ISS on Monday (May 6) at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 May 7 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. There is a 95% chance of good weather at launch time, according to Brian Cizek, launch weather officer for the 45th Weather Squadron at the Space Force station.
Boeing does have three backup opportunities in which to launch the CFT mission, on May 7, May 10 and May 11. The pristine weather forecast is expected to hold at least through the May 7 opportunity, which also has a 95% chance of good weather, Cizek said during Friday’s press conference.