NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are driven to the Cape Canaveral launchpad in the Astrovan II ahead of the first attempt to launch on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The first try on May 6 ended in a scrub.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Teams in Florida are preparing for the third launch attempt of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft with two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA and Boeing set a new target launch date for Wednesday at 10:29 a.m. ET to launch astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in the Starliner capsule on top of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Forecasters with the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of favorable weather for Wednesday with cumulus cloud cover being the primary concern.
The latest attempt comes after two countdowns on May 6 and June 1 ended in launch scrubs for different reasons. The most recent launch was scrubbed minutes before blastoff because of an issue at the launchpad. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said one of three computer cards at Launch Complex 41 was slow to start up, causing a hold in the countdown.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen at Space Launch Complex 41 after the launch attempt was scrubbed, Saturday, June 1, 2024, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
NASA said ULA engineers worked through the weekend to find the source of the problem and replaced the problematic part with another.
“A full failure analysis of the power unit will be performed to better understand the root cause. Meanwhile, ULA has completed functional checkouts of the new chassis and the cards, and all hardware is performing normally,” NASA said in a statement.
Wilmore and Williams have remained at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center while they await their next launch attempt. The pair will be the first astronauts to launch in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft as part of the Crew Flight Test (CFT), the final stage to certify the vehicle for human flights to the ISS.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Monday, May 6, 2024, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(NASA)
Starliner’s first astronaut launch years in the making
In 2014, NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX under the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program to develop spacecraft to fly astronauts to and from the space station.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule lands safely back on Earth after visiting the International Space Station
Boeing’s journey to develop and certify the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has faced delays over the past 10 years. The company took two tries to complete the orbital flight test when the first attempt to launch a crewless Starliner in 2019 failed to reach the ISS due to a computer timing error.
A 2022 orbital flight test was successful, but Boeing engineers found issues with the spacecraft after examining data from the flight, further delaying the Crew Flight Test with astronauts.
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Boeing’s CFT comes four years after SpaceX first launched two NASA astronauts to the space station, ending U.S. reliance on Russia for transport to the orbiting laboratory after the space shuttle program ended. The company is preparing for its ninth flight with a NASA crew this summer.
When it happens, Williams and Wilmore will spend about a week on the International Space Station testing Starliner’s systems before returning to Earth.
A successful CFT will culminate in a soft landing of the Starliner spacecraft in the Desert Southwest.