After years of delays and stumbles, liftoff is scheduled for Monday evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket is transported to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on May 4, 2024, (Photo Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP). Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will blast off on the years-delayed flight on May 6 for a weeklong stay on the International Space Station (ISS). (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP / AFP)
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The image revival for Boeing, after countless safety problems, could come from space. Boeing is finally ready to launch astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA after years of delays and stumbles. It is the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board.
The project
A pair of veteran NASA pilots will control the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station. Takeoff is scheduled for Monday evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA turned to U.S. companies for astronaut travel after the space shuttles were retired. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has flown nine taxi trips to NASA, while Boeing has only operated a pair of unoccupied test flights.