Boeing Starliner crew poised for launch today on first piloted test flight after multiple delays
CBSN
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was readied for blastoff Wednesday in a third attempt to get Boeing's long-delayed Starliner crew capsule into orbit for its first piloted test flight, a cruise to the International Space Station.
NASA commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams, both former Navy test pilots, planned to strap in just after 8 a.m. EDT to await liftoff at 10:52 a.m. That's roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the pad into alignment with the space station's orbit — a requirement for rendezvous missions.
Once in orbit, the astronauts plan to test the Starliner's manual controls before closely monitoring an automated 25-hour rendezvous with the station, catching up from behind and below before moving in for docking at the lab's forward port at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. If all goes well, the Starliner and its crew will return to Earth on June 14.
