“Liftoff!”: After A Series Of Delays, Crewed Boeing Starliner Finally Launches, Inbound To ISS 

Update (1100ET):

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner finally lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is en route to the International Space Station. 

Liftoff! Go #AtlasV! Go Centaur! Go #Starliner!

Godspeed, Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni! pic.twitter.com/kTA8fjcLP7

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 5, 2024

Watch Live:

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The third time may be the charm.

No one knows for sure, as the Boeing CST-100 Starliner launch was first scrubbed last month due to a leak, and the most recent attempt on Saturday was canceled because of a computer glitch.

May 6: Boeing’s Day Just Got Worse: First Crewed Launch Of Starliner Spacecraft Scrubbed
May 27: Boeing’s Starliner Crewed ISS Mission Will Still Launch Despite Helium Leak
June 1: Countdown To Boeing’s Starliner Spacecraft Launch “Has Been Stopped”

Let’s hope this time around, the Starliner, seven years behind schedule and more than a billion-dollar cost overrun, will experience no more technical mishaps on its long-delayed space taxi flight with the vehicle’s first crewed mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, atop an Atlas V rocket from the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance, to the International Space Station. 

Two veteran astronauts – Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore – will be inside the Starliner. Launch time from Kennedy Space Center is expected around 10:52 ET. 

Meanwhile, all eyes are on Thursday’s SpaceX’s Starship Flight 4 test mission.

Livestream of the first @BoeingSpace Starliner to @Space_Station. Wishing them best of luck! https://t.co/5tfsywhWCv

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2024