CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (352today.com) – The teams from NASA and Boeing collaborating on the launch of the crew flight test say they are ready for the next attempt.
Boeing confirmed Monday the company’s Starliner spacecraft, United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and ground support equipment are healthy and ready for the next liftoff window.
The first Starliner flight with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams is now targeted to liftoff at 10:52 a.m. Wednesday. The astronauts are scheduled to join the International Space Station for a roughly one week stay aboard the microgravity laboratory.
Managers say work at the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was completed June 2. They changed out and tested a failed power distribution source that halted a launch attempt on Saturday, June 1.
The Starliner mission management team reviewed multiple aspects of the replacement and troubleshooting steps and polled “go” to proceed during a detailed session as they continue to prep the teams and hardware for the June 5 opportunity.
“I really appreciate all the work by the NASA, Boeing, and ULA teams over the last week,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “In particular, the ULA team worked really hard to quickly learn more about these issues, keep our NASA and Boeing teams informed, and protect for this next attempt. We will continue to take it one step at a time.”
Launch Forecast
The weather forecast calls for favorable conditions, with U.S. Space Force meteorologists from the 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of acceptable conditions at launch time.
Wilmore and Williams continue preparing for launch with proficiency training. The two remain quarantined at Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of liftoff.