Sunita Williams and another NASA veteran, Butch Wilmore, were launched to the International Space Station last night (Wednesday) by an Atlas 5 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They will travel for 25 hours to reach the space station.
The project is designed to test Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The purpose of the project was to test the capability of Boeing’s Starliner space shuttle, the first manned launch. Is the space shuttle especially suitable for carrying humans to the International Space Station? From there it is to check whether it is suitable for return as well.
Starliner to the stars! ✨
At 10:52am ET, @BoeingSpace #Starliner lifted off on a @ULALaunch Atlas V for the first time with @NASA_Astronauts aboard. This Crew Flight Test aims to certify the spacecraft for routine space travel to and from the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/WDQKOrE5B6— NASA (@NASA) June 5, 2024
En route to the International Space Station, Sunita Williams and Tch Willmore will test the spacecraft’s unique capabilities in orbit, NASA said. Through this project, they have created the record of being the first people to go into space in the Starliner spacecraft. If the test is successful, Starliner will be the second manned mission to the International Space Station after SpaceX.
Williams, 58, is the program’s pilot and Wilmore, 61, is the commander. According to NASA, Willmore and Sunitha Williams will reach the space station on Thursday, June 6 at 12:15 p.m. ET.
Earlier, the project was postponed twice due to technical glitch on May 7 and June 1.
