According to NASA, the spacecraft, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:34 pm EDT.
The Starliner spacecraft Calypso is capable of autonomous or manual control and is expected to dock with the space station on Wednesday, May 8.
Butch and Suni will spend about a week at the station before returning to Earth with a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.
Following the flight test, NASA will move forward with certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Where to watch
The agency said that coverage of the mission will begin at 6:30 pm ET on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Wilmore and Williams will be the first to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The event has been delayed for a decade because of the spacecraft’s development setbacks.
“The Starliner spacecraft, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56 meters), can carry up to four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program,” NASA said.
More about mission
This mission is the agency’s first crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft, as part of the Commercial Crew Program. The mission will test the Starliner system’s end-to-end capabilities in the western United States, including launch, docking, and return to Earth.
In 2019, Williams gave the crew capsule the name Calypso to pay tribute to Jacques Cousteau, the explorer who traveled the planet on a ship of the same name.
His goal was to learn about the ocean and share the wonders of the sea with people, and Williams believes that Starliner can accomplish the same for space.
