Boeing Starliner flies NASA astronauts into space for first time

The third time was a charm for Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which finally blasted off with astronauts aboard for the first time ever Wednesday, kicking off a long-awaited, high-stakes test flight to the International Space Station.

The capsule launched at 10:52 a.m. ET, riding into orbit on an Atlas V rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. 

Veteran NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams make up the Starliner's inaugural crew. They are expected to spend about a day journeying to the space station before docking with the orbiting outpost Thursday at 12:15 p.m. ET.

The Starliner program, including this first crewed flight, was plagued by years of delays and technical glitches. Most recently, a launch attempt Saturday was called off with less than 4 minutes remaining in the countdown. A previous attempt on May 6 was also scuttled after an issue cropped up with a valve in the Atlas V rocket, which is manufactured by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. A separate helium leak was later detected in the Starliner’s propulsion system, which led to further delays.

Boeing is hoping to catch up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has been flying NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on its Crew Dragon capsule since 2020. If this crewed Starliner flight is successful through landing, it could pave the way for Boeing to join SpaceX’s ranks, giving NASA a second option for routine flights to and from the space station.

Both companies developed their spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The initiative began more than a decade ago to support private companies in building new space vehicles to take astronauts to low-Earth orbit, following the retirement of the agency’s space shuttles.