CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA astronauts assigned to Boeing's first human spaceflight have arrived at their launch site just over a week before their scheduled liftoff. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will serve as test pilots for Boeing's Starliner capsule, which is set to make its crewed debut after facing years of delays. The astronauts flew from Houston to Kennedy Space Center on Thursday in preparation for the upcoming mission.
The Starliner is scheduled to blast off on May 6 atop an Atlas rocket, embarking on a journey to the International Space Station for a weeklong shakedown cruise. Boeing is striving to catch up to SpaceX, which has been successfully launching astronauts for NASA since 2020.
Boeing's previous Starliner test flights did not carry any crew members. The initial test flight in 2019 encountered issues that prevented it from reaching the space station, including software glitches. Boeing conducted a second uncrewed demonstration in 2022. More recently, the Starliner faced challenges related to parachute malfunctions and the need to address flammable tape concerns.
Wilmore emphasized that this upcoming mission is a test flight designed to identify any potential issues. He acknowledged the possibility of encountering unforeseen challenges, stating, 'Do we expect it to go perfectly? This is the first human flight of the spacecraft. I'm sure we'll find things out. That's why we do this.'
NASA entered agreements with SpaceX and Boeing a decade ago, investing billions of dollars for the companies to transport astronauts to and from the space station. Despite the space station's planned retirement by 2030, NASA remains committed to having two capsules available for its astronauts, as highlighted by Wilmore.
Wilmore and Williams will make history as the first astronauts to ride an Atlas rocket since NASA's Project Mercury in the early 1960s, marking a significant milestone in space exploration.
