It was more than a decade in the making and cost Boeing more than a billion dollars.
But Starliner, the crisis-hit company’s reusable spacecraft, will finally take astronauts to space this weekend.
As long as there are no more last-minute setbacks, Starliner will launch atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday at 12:25 EST (17:25 BST).
On board will be two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will be transported to the International Space Station (ISS) and spend about a week there before heading home.
The so-called “crew flight test” (CFT) will be streamed live on NASA TV, available on YouTube and the agency’s website.
Will Boeing’s Starliner finally launch this time? Starliner is pictured here on May 30 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket
On board will be two experienced NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore (left) and pilot Suni Williams (right), who will spend about a week on the ISS
Known for its production of commercial aircraft, Boeing has come under heavy scrutiny in recent months after a piece of fuselage blew out of one of its new 737s.
The company has been barred from increasing production of the plane as it addresses ongoing safety issues.
It appears some experts are also concerned about Starliner, as a NASA contractor has warned that the mission could be “catastrophic” because the craft is leaking.
However, Boeing appears confident that the launch will take place on June 1 as planned.
Thursday Boeing posted a video on X of Starliner and its rocket moving into position at Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral, prior to launch.
In a statement on its website, Boeing said team members are now conducting final checks and preparations for the Crew Flight Test (CFT).
“These crucial hours leading up to the launch of the Crew Flight Test (CFT) will involve a series of meticulous inspections and tests, demonstrating the precision and care taken to ensure the vehicle’s readiness and safety,” it said company.
Starliner first reached orbit in 2019 and successfully docked with the ISS in 2022 – but on both occasions there were no people on board.
The cone-shaped spacecraft can carry seven passengers, but only two are needed for this first crewed flight.
A manned flight is of a completely different order of magnitude in terms of safety and any failed launch could be catastrophic for the precious project.
After years of delays, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will finally carry astronauts to the International Space Station on June 1, 2024, marking a crucial step for both the US aerospace giant and NASA’s commercial outsourcing strategy. Pictured, May 30, 2024
In a statement on its website, Boeing said team members are now conducting final checks and preparations for the so-called ‘crew flight test’ (CFT)
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft approaches the ISS in May 2022, during ‘Orbital Flight Test 2’ (no people on board)
Starliner is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, April 16, 2024
According to reports, Boeing has had to cut nearly $900 million from its revenues to cover Starliner costs, including $410 million in 2020, but the total cost of the project is now reportedly $1.4 billion.
Boeing is one of three companies participating in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program – an initiative to fly teams of astronauts to the ISS on behalf of the space agency.
The program, created in 2011, was intended for NASA to outsource the development of ships that could perform the journey, rather than having NASA engineers do it themselves.
NASA awarded fixed-price contracts of $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX in 2014, at a time when the U.S. was relying on Russian Soyuz rockets for rides to the ISS.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the program’s most successful member to date, conducted its first crewed launch to the ISS in May 2020 using its Crew Dragon spacecraft.
SpaceX will conduct its ninth crewed launch to the ISS for NASA this summer — and will conduct several more afterward as part of the program — while rival Boeing lags behind.
Starliner’s Crew Flight Test was initially scheduled to take place in 2017, but several delays pushed the mission’s launch to July 2023.
SpaceX boss Elon Musk is pictured with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA hopes to certify Boeing’s Starliner as a second ‘taxi’ service for its astronauts to the ISS – a role SpaceX has held since 2020
Destination: Bottom view of the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2021, orbiting about 250 miles above Earth
However, last July passed without any launches and in August Boeing confirmed that a crewed launch will not take place until March 2024 at the earliest.
The flight was subsequently postponed to May 6, but the launch was canceled with less than two hours to go due to a rocket failure and rescheduled for June 1.
The Boeing staff will desperately hope that this time the explosion will actually happen and that the two astronauts will reach the ISS safely.
The third contracted company is Sierra Space, whose “Dream Chaser” vehicle can land horizontally on a runway like a traditional airplane.
According to Sierra Space, based in Louisville, Colorado, Dream Chaser has just completed “rigorous” testing at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio.
It has been shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its inaugural launch to the ISS, likely sometime this summer.
Although the ISS is scheduled to enter service early next decade, NASA said it still wants two competing launch vehicles that could carry astronauts there.