Boeing to send crewed Starliner to ISS in maiden flight

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — A pair of NASA astronauts will be sent to the International Space Station in the first crewed mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Countdown to launch

The Crew Space Transportation (CST) 100 Starliner spacecraft named Calypso, while sitting on top of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, will take off from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday night, May 6, according to NASA.

The instantaneous launch window opens at 10:34 p.m. ET.

The Starliner will be sending up NASA astronauts Cmdr. Barry “Butch” Wilmore and pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams.

About Starliner and Atlas V rocket

While the Starliner can fit up to seven crew members, for NASA missions it will carry between four to five people.

Each 16.5-foot (5 meter) tall Starliner is designed for up to 10 launch missions and they are made for each assignment, stated Boeing.  

The Starliner spacecraft only has two missions under its wide belt: The first Orbital Flight Test in December 2019, which launched well but there was a glitch in the mission-elapsed timer that caused the spacecraft to go into an orbital insertion burn at the wrong time and used too much fuel.

This meant that while it was in a stable orbit, it could not make a rendezvous with the space station.

In fact, the Starliner in the first Orbital Flight Test will be the same one used for this maiden crewed mission. And it is named Calypso after Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s oceanography vessel, RV Calypso, stated NASA.

The second Orbital Flight Test in May 2022 was a success and made it to the International Space Station.

After the stage separation, the Atlas V booster will fall into the ocean. Unlike SpaceX rockets, Atlas rockets do not land.

The Atlas V rocket, with the Starliner on top, stands at 171 feet (52 meters) tall. It is a bit smaller than a stacked SpaceX Falcon rocket at 229.6 feet (70 meters).

Understanding the mission

After the launch, the Starliner crew will have a more than 27-hour journey to the ISS, where Calypso will dock on the space station’s Harmony module autonomously, stated NASA.

“During its stay, the crew will evaluate the spacecraft, its displays, and cargo transfer systems. Wilmore and Williams will also go inside Starliner, close the hatch, and demonstrate the spacecraft can perform as a ‘safe haven’ in the case one is needed in the future,” NASA explained.

One of the main objectives of the mission is to demonstrate the Starliner’s ability to launch and land. This will be the first time that the Starliner spacecraft will have a journey to the ISS with people onboard.

This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is designed to work with American aerospace companies to build spacecraft and rockets to send equipment, technology and astronauts from American soil.

“The goal of the program is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation on space station missions, which will allow for additional research time,” NASA stated.

United Launch Alliance is the joint business venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which are famed for the Atlas V and the now-retired Delta IV Heavy rockets and the new Vulcan rockets.

“In 2014, Boeing was awarded up to $4.2 billion by NASA to build, test and fly the Starliner. The contract includes six service missions, as well as an uncrewed and a crewed flight test to the ISS,” Boeing stated in a 51-page document.

Both Wilmore and Williams will be at the ISS as part time Expedition 71 members for about a week before they climb back onboard the Starliner and return to Earth.

(ISS expeditions are missions that can last about six months.)

The Starliner will have a “hard landing” in the American Southwest. Its parachutes will slow it down to 4 mph before touching the earth again. The exact location has not yet been disclosed.

Getting to know the crew

The crew for this mission is no strangers to being in space. Wilmore, the commander of the Crew Flight Test mission, became a NASA astronaut in July 2000.

The retired Navy veteran has been on the Atlantis shuttle mission STS-129 in 2009 and two ISS Expedition missions: 41 and 42 between 2014 and 2015.

Williams will be the pilot for this first voyage of the crewed mission. The Ohio native was selected to be a NASA astronaut in 1998 and has been on two ISS missions: Expeditions 14 and 15 in 2006 and 2007. And then 32 and 33 in 2012.

“Williams, who has spent a 322 total days in space, ranks sixth on the all-time U.S. endurance list, and second all-time for a female astronaut,” Boeing stated of the former retired Navy test pilot and captain.