Boeing's Starliner spacecraft set for historic first crewed launch after a series of delays

By James Rogers

Boeing's Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket

Boeing Co.'s Starliner spacecraft is set to make its first crewed flight to the International Space Station on Saturday after a series of delays for the historic mission.

Starliner is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 12:25 p.m. Eastern time.

"Everything continues to progress towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the first crewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft for NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP)," United Launch Alliance said in a statement Friday. "Today's forecast shows a 90 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch," the company added.

Related: Boeing's first crewed Starliner launch pushed back again, next possible opportunity 'still being discussed'

"Welcome back!" wrote NASA's Commercial Crew Program in a social-media post Monday, along with an image of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arriving back at Kennedy Space Center's Launch and Landing Facility for the Crew Flight Test, or CFT.

The first launch attempt from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 6 was scrubbed two hours before it was scheduled for liftoff due to concerns over an oxygen-release valve on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will transport Starliner into low-Earth orbit and was initially pushed back to no earlier than May 10.

The launch was then targeted for May 17 to enable a valve replacement, before being delayed again to May 21 to allow for additional testing. Then NASA pushed the launch back to no earlier than May 25 before another delay.

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The first crewed Starliner mission has faced a number of delays in recent years, so the launch will mark an important milestone for NASA, Boeing (BA) and their partners. The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which partners with the private space industry in the U.S. to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

In 2019, an uncrewed Starliner made its first test flight to the ISS, but docking with the space station was canceled because of an incorrectly set clock on the capsule. The second uncrewed test flight, Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2, successfully reached the orbiting space lab and returned to Earth in 2022.

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United Launch Alliance, or ULA, was set up as a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) in 2006. Since then, the company's Delta and Atlas rockets have been used to send more than 150 missions into orbit.

Boeing shares are up 2.2% Friday and Lockheed Martin's stock is up 1%.

-James Rogers

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06-01-24 0721ET

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