TO TAKE OFF! NASA Astronauts Pilot First Starliner Crewed Test to Station – NASA

Editor’s note: This release was updated on June 5, 2024 to include instructions on how to attend the post-docking briefing on Thursday, June 6.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely in orbit during the first crewed test flight aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft en route to the International Space Station.

As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the astronauts lifted off Wednesday at 10:52 a.m. EDT on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. -final test of the Starliner system.

“Two bold NASA astronauts are well on their way for this historic first test flight of a brand new spacecraft,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Boeing’s Starliner marks a new chapter in American exploration. Human spaceflight is a daring task, but one that is worth it. It’s an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners and the future of research. Go Starliner, go Butch and Suni!”

As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the flight test will help validate the delivery system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft and operations capabilities in orbit, and to return to Earth with astronauts on board while it agency is preparing to certify Starliner for rotational missions to space. space station. Starliner previously conducted two unmanned orbital flights, including a test to and from the space station, along with a pad abort demonstration.

“With the Starliner launch, separation from the rocket and arrival in orbit, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test is on track,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program. “Everyone is focused on providing Suni and Butch with a safe, comfortable ride and a successful test mission from start to finish.”

During Starliner’s flight, Boeing will monitor a series of automated spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Houston. NASA teams will monitor the space station’s activities throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“The flying crew on Starliner represents more than a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA,” said Steve Stich, manager of the Commercial Crew Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For many of us, this is a career-defining moment that brings a new crew transportation opportunity for our agency and our nation. We’re going to take it one step at a time, putting Starliner to the test and staying vigilant until Butch and Suni land safely back on Earth at the end of this test flight.”

Starliner will dock autonomously into the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, and remain in the orbital laboratory for approximately one week.

Wilmore and Williams will help verify that the spacecraft is performing as intended by, among other things, testing the environmental control system, displays and control system and maneuvering the thrusters during flight.

After a safe arrival at the space station, Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin and Oleg Kononenko.

NASA’s arrival and in-flight event coverage is as follows (all times eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Mission coverage will continue throughout Starliner’s flight on NASA Television channels and resume on NASA+ before the mission docks.

Thursday June 6
9:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, the NASA app and YouTube, and continues on NASA Television and the agency website.

Coverage of the post-dock press conference will be broadcast live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and the agency website.

Coverage of the call from Earth to space will be broadcast live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA App, YouTube and the agency website.

Coverage of the in-space event will be streamed live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and the agency website.

Coverage of the call from Earth to space will be broadcast live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA App, YouTube and the agency website.

Coverage of the call from Earth to space will be broadcast live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA App, YouTube and the agency website.

Wilmore is the mission commander. Wilmore is a veteran of two space flights and has 178 days in space under his belt. In 2009, he served as a pilot aboard the space shuttle Atlantis for the STS-129 mission. In addition, Wilmore served as a flight engineer for Expedition 41 until November 2014, when he assumed command of the space station following the arrival of the Expedition 42 crew. He returned to Earth the following March. Prior to his selection by NASA in 2000, the father of two received both his bachelor’s degrees and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, before graduating with another master’s degree in aeronautical systems from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is also a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland, and completed four operational deployments during his tenure as a fleet naval officer and aviator.

Williams is the spacecraft pilot for the test flight. Williams has spent 322 days in space on two missions: Expedition 14/15 in 2006 through 2007, and Expedition 32/33 in 2012. The Massachusetts native also performed seven spacewalks, totaling 50 hours and 40 minutes. Before starting her career at NASA in 1998, Williams graduated from there bachelor’s degree in physical sciences from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, before earning her master’s degree in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne. In total, she has logged more than 3,000 flying hours in more than 30 different aircraft.