NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have entered a quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center ahead of a test launch to the International Space Station early next month. The crew will be the first human passengers in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
The mission is targeting a launch to the station from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday, May 6 at 10:34 p.m. ET on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket.
It’s a critical test of the space vehicle designed by Boeing to transport astronauts to and from the station.
Starliner has completed two uncrewed missions. Its first failed to reach the station due to a software issue. A second in 2022 was a success.
Ahead of this astronaut mission, NASA associate administrator Jim Free said the agency has given the GO to proceed with launch.
“I can say with confidence that the teams have done their due diligence. There’s still some closeout work to do. But we are on track for a launch," said Free.
NASA partnered with Boeing and SpaceX to design and develop a crew transportation system to and from the station for the agency's astroantus after the Space Shuttle program retired. SpaceX and its Crew Dragon capsule launched its first astronauts in 2020 and since then, has been flying space station crew missions about every six months.
But Boeing's efforts have been delayed. Most recently, engineers discovered adhesive tape used on the capsule's wiring could possible catch fire, along with possible issues with the spacecraft's parachute system.
And while the company faces increased scrutiny over its airplane division, Boeing's Mark Nappi, who oversees the Starliner program, said his attention is on getting the astronauts safely to and from the station.
"I don't think of it in terms of what's important for Boeing, as much as I think of it as in terms of what's important for this program," said Nappi.
NASA concluded its Flight Readiness Review of the vehicle Thursday, paving the way for Boeing to continue to move towards launch.
“The first crewed flight of a new spacecraft is a[n] absolutely critical milestone," said Free. "The lives of our crewmembers Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are at stake. We don’t take that lightly at all. The most important thing we can do is protect those two people, as well as those on board the space station.”
The mission will be the first time humans have launched on an Atlas V rocket since NASA's Mercury program in the 1960s.
Once launched, the crew will spend about a week living and working at the station. Williams and Willmore will return to Earth in the Starliner capsule, setting down under a canopy of parachutes in the southwest U.S.
Williams and Willmore are seasoned NASA astronauts, making trips to space in both the U.S. Space Shuttle and Russian Soyuz capsule.
