Boeing Starliner spacecraft rolls out to Atlas V rocket ahead of 1st astronaut launch (photos)

Boeing Starliner for Crew Flight Test rolls past the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on April 16, 2024.Boeing's first Starliner spacecraft for astronauts made a short road trip today ahead of its expected launch in early May. mission no earlier than May 6. Onboard the mission, known as Crew Flight Test , will be two veteran NASA astronauts and former Navy test pilots: commander Barry"Butch" Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft rolls out of the commercial crew and cargo processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Orlando, Florida on April 16, 2024.The upcoming roughly week-long CFT mission Starliner will run to the ISS aims to test out all major systems with astronauts on board. CFT follows two uncrewed flights by Starliner: A 2019 flight thatCrews for both CFT and the first operational six-month ISS mission in 2025 were on hand to watch the Starliner rollout.

Astronauts for that first operational mission, known as Starliner-1, include NASA's Scott Tingle, NASA's Mike Fincke and the Canadian Space Agency's Joshua Kutryk. Also present at the rollout was Kimiya Yui, an astronaut from theCrew Flight Test NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in front of their Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Starliner was rolling between buildings at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on April 16, 2024 to prepare for launch.

The Atlas V for Boeing Starliner awaiting the spacecraft, as it is shipped there on April 16, inside United Launch Alliance's vertical integration facility.Boeing and NASA, alongside Starliner astronauts, emphasize that past issues are behind them and that Starliner is ready to bear crews. CFT will be a major checkout of all systems to certify Starliner for longer missions, six months or more, for standard ISS crew changeouts.

Elizabeth Howell , Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer forfor 10 years before joining full-time.

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