NASA says the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft could launch to the International Space Station as soon as May 1. The capsule will sit on top of an Atlas-5 rocket, built at the United Launch Alliance factory in Decatur. This will be the first time astronauts have been carried to orbit aboard an Atlas-5.
The May 1 launch date is the earliest that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams could fly on the first test launch of the new Starliner will a crew on board. The Alabama built Atlas-5 rocket, with the capsule on top, is expected to roll to a launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in early April. An unmanned version of the Starliner failed to reach the International Space Station back in 2019.
Boeing and the SpaceX company where both hired by NASA to create commercial vehicles to carry astronauts to and from the orbiting space station. Boeing was reportedly paid just over $4 billion dollars to develop the Starliner, while SpaceX received $2.5 billion to build its successful Crew Dragon capsule. While Boeing worked to resolve problems with its vehicle, its competitor sent eleven missions to the ISS. The planned use of an Alabama built Atlas-5 will be the first use of this type of rocket to launch manned space missions since the days of Project Mercury in the 1960’s. Astronauts including John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper all flew to orbit aboard Atlas rockets.
The upcoming test flight of the Starliner is meant to prove the vehicle can safely and reliably carry crews to and from the International Space Station. If the flight is successful, the new capsule will work alongside SpaceX Crew Dragons to provide a redundant means of transporting astronauts to and from and the orbiting laboratory.
