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Boeing Starliner 1st astronaut flight: Live updates

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By Elizabeth Howell, Tariq Malik
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A Boeing Starliner is stacked atop its Atlas V rocket ahead of its first astronaut flight for NASA at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
(Image: © ULA)

Boeing will launch its first-ever Starliner astronaut mission for NASA as early as May 6, 2024 on a critical test flight to show its commercial space capsule is ready to ferry crews to and from the International Space Station. 

The so-called Starliner Crew Flight Test will launch on a weeklong mission to the ISS from Space Launch Complex 41 of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 6. Liftoff is set for 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 May 7 GMT), with landing set for a week later in the southwestern U.S. Follow our live updates of the Boeing Crew Flight Test mission here from launch to landing!

LAUNCH WEBCASTS! | Meet the Crew | All about Starliner | Boeing

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1 day until historic Boeing Starliner launch with astronauts

Launch day for the debut Boeing Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to be no earlier than tomorrow (May 6). The instantaneous launch window opens at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT on Tuesday, May 7) and you can watch the historic International Space Station (ISS) mission live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA Television.

An Atlas V rocket rolled out to its launch pad on Saturday (May 4), also Star Wars Day, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The stack includes both the United Launch Alliance booster and Starliner.

The mission, called Crew Flight Test (CFT), will send two veteran NASA astronauts and former U.S. Navy test pilots aloft: Butch Wilmore will command the mission and Suni Williams will be the pilot. The duo are quarantining at the nearby Kennedy Space Center.

Read more: Boeing Starliner rolls out to launch pad for 1st astronaut flight on May 6 (photos)

What's next for Boeing Starliner after 1st crew flight test?

Boeing Starliner makes an uncrewed approach to the International Space Station during its second test flight, on May 20, 2022. (Image credit: NASA)

The first crew flight test of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is just days away.

After years of development, NASA and Boeing are set to introduce another option for accessing low Earth orbit with Starliner. But what exactly will the Starliner program look like after the crew flight test on May 6?

Read our full coverage where we break down what's next for Starliner, including its first operational mission to the International Space Station in 2025.

Related: What's next for Boeing Starliner after its 1st crew flight test?
Read more: Their other vehicle is the Starliner: Boeing's 1st crew to ride Astrovan II to the launch pad

Boeing Starliner was delayed years. Here's why

The Boeing Starliner capsule that will fly the company’s Crew Flight Test mission to the International Space Station is shown at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in April 2023. (Image credit: Boeing/John Grant)

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is finally on the verge of making its first crewed flight. 

Starliner has had a hard road to get rated for crewed flight, including years of delays and an unsuccessful first uncrewed flight test in 2019 in which the spacecraft did not reach the ISS as planned.

So how did Starliner get here, despite its numerous setbacks? Read our full coverage to get up to speed with what makes Starliner's Crew Flight Test mission currently scheduled for Monday (May 6) at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT on May 7) such a historic moment.

Related: Boeing's Starliner is ready to fly astronauts after years of delay. Here's what took so long.

What to expect during Boeing Starliner's May 6 astronaut flight

Boeing's Starliner makes its first uncrewed approach to the International Space Station during Orbital Flight Test-2 on May 21, 2022. (Image credit: NASA)

After years of delays, it's finally here: The first crewed flight test of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

Starliner is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 16 at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT May 7). The event will be livestreamed here at Space.com, via NASA Television.

But what exactly will happen before, during and after the launch? Space.com's Elizabeth Howell, who will be on location for Starliner's first astronaut launch, breaks down the key milestones in terms of what to expect during Boeing Starliner's test flight on May 6.

Related: Here's what to expect during Boeing Starliner's 1st astronaut test flight on May 6

Starliner astronauts hold last press conference before May 6 launch

The first two NASA astronauts to fly aboard Boeing Starliner, Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, will have a press conference with reporters from their quarantine at the agency's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) near Orlando, Florida. 

The virtual news conference will run live on NASA Television at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) and will be streamed here at Space.com if possible.

The astronauts' mission, Crew Flight Test or CFT, will also see Wilmore and Williams (both former U.S. Navy test pilots) become the first humans to fly on board the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. Launch is scheduled for May 6 at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT May 7).

CFT is expected to last a bit over a week and will include a stay at the International Space Station (ISS). Alongside ground controllers, Williams and Wilmore will perform a check of all major spacecraft systems ahead of certifying Starliner for six-month excursions to space.

Boeing will then join SpaceX as a provider of astronaut spacecraft for ISS missions. Read more about why NASA wants two companies sending astronauts to space in this Space.com story.

Starliner launch schedule released for May 6 launch

NASA has released its launch schedule for Boeing Starliner's historic first flight with astronauts, which will take place no earlier than Monday (May 6) at 10:34 p.m. EDT. 

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both former U.S. Navy test pilots, will fly their mission to the International Space Station for approximately a week to certify Starliner for future half-year missions. They will also be the first astronauts to ride aboard United Launch Alliance (ULA)'s Atlas V rocket. Liftoff will take place from NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Orlando, Florida.

Coverage will run live here at Space.com, via NASA Television. All major events for Starliner's flight are listed below. Timings for events below are in EDT.

Wednesday, May 1

1:30 p.m. – Virtual news conference at Kennedy with the flight test astronauts:

Friday, May 3
12:30 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference at Kennedy (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:

3:30 p.m. – NASA Social panel live stream event at Kennedy with the following participants:

Monday, May 6

6:30 p.m. – Launch coverage begins.

10:34 p.m. – Launch.

Tuesday, May 7

12 a.m. – Postlaunch news conference with the following participants:

Boeing Starliner astronauts 1 week away from launch

Butch Wilmore, commander for Crew Flight Test, outside the Boeing Starliner spacecraft during a dress rehearsal on April 26, 2024. The scorch mark on the side of the spacecraft is a harmless souvenir from re-entry during an uncrewed mission known as Orbital Flight Test, in 2019. (Image credit: Mike Fincke/NASA/X)

NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams finished a big dress rehearsal for their Boeing Starliner mission on Friday (April 26) near their launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Their quarantined training continues for a scheduled May 6 liftoff to the International Space Station, one week from today.

Williams and Wilmore also recently performed a video tour of one of their simulators, called the Boeing Mission Trainer, to demonstrate procedures for launch and landing. The simulator is housed at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Their mission, Crew Flight Test, passed its latest flight readiness review on Thursday (April 25), although as with all launches, safety and weather checks will continue all the way through the time it lifts off. The mission is expected to last about a week to certify future half-year operational excursions, starting with Starliner-1 in 2025.

Read more: Boeing Starliner astronauts conduct dress rehearsal ahead of May 6 launch (photos, video)

1st Starliner astronauts finish dress rehearsal before May 6 launch

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finished a big dress rehearsal before their historic launch upon Boeing Starliner no earlier than May 6, agency officials said Friday (April 26) hours after the rehearsal finished.

"Wilmore and Williams completed a series of launch day milestones including suiting up, working in a flight deck simulator, and operating the same software that will be used during the launch," NASA officials wrote in a blog post on Friday (April 26).

The rehearsal took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Florida and included a countdown procedure with the Starliner spacecraft, which is on top of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will carry it to the International Space Station (ISS).

The one-week Crew Flight Test passed its latest flight readiness review with NASA on Thursday (April 25). CFT, the first Starliner mission with astronauts, aims to certify the spacecraft for six-month missions to the ISS that may start as soon as 2025. Read more about Starliner being "go for launch" here at Space.com.

Starliner astronauts arrive at launch site

Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore (left) and Suni Williams, both of NASA, arrive at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida April 25 in a T-38 jet ahead of their launch. (Image credit: NASA)

The two NASA astronauts who will fly on Boeing's first crewed Starliner spacecraft have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for their historic launch to the International Space Station on May 6. 

Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams landed their NASA T-38 supersonic jet at the space center's Launch and Landing Facility after a short flight from Houston's Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center. 

The astronauts will launch to the ISS on Boeing's Starliner and an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station near KSC. Their  one-week mission to the ISS is a final shakedown cruise for Boeing's Starliner to prove it is ready for operational NASA crew flights. At the end of the mission, Starliner will parachute to Earth and make a land-based landing in the southwestern United States.