NASA's space mission ft Boeing-ULA Atlas V explained | AFP
The Boeing Crew Flight Test will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to and from the International Space Station. | PTI
Launch of the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket and Boeing Starliner spacecraft is targeted for 12:25 p.m. EDT; around 10:00 p.m. IST. | AFP
The launch will happen at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. | AFP
Wilmore and Williams will test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before NASA works to complete final certification of the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbiting laboratory as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. | AP
NASA, Boeing, and ULA scrubbed the previous launch opportunity on May 6 due to a suspect oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur second stage. | AFP
Starliner will then return to Earth, landing in the southwestern United States via parachute and airbag-assisted landing. | AFP
The spacecraft is built by NASA in collaboration with Boeing to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.