NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test Crew Butch Wilmore (left), and Suni Williams (ideal) get here in Florida on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Credit: NASANASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for a historical launch on Boeings Starliner spacecraft scheduled for May 6, going for a week-long mission at the International Space Station.NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams landed on April 25, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the companys Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a brief flight from Ellington Field near NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. Admiring their piloting days as retired U.S. Navy captains, they flew to Kennedy in a T-38 jet.As part of NASAs Boeing Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams are the very first to launch aboard the companys Starliner spacecraft on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station.Shortly after 1 p.m. EDT, NASA leaders held a short welcome ceremony and brief news conference with the following participants: Jennifer Kunz, associate director, NASA KennedyDana Hutcherson, deputy supervisor, NASAs Commercial Crew ProgramNASA astronaut Butch WilmoreNASA astronaut Suni WilliamsNASA Kennedy Space Centers Associate Director Jennifer Kunz and NASA Commercial Crew Program Deputy Manager Dana Hutcherson participate in a media event at the Florida spaceport on Thursday, April 25, 2024, upon the arrival of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams for the companys Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. As part of the NASAs Commercial Crew Program, Boeings Starliner spacecraft is arranged to release atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6. The Atlas V will take off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Credit: NASA/Chris ChamberlandMeanwhile, NASA, Boeing, and ULA agents are getting involved in the companys Flight Test Readiness Review at NASA Kennedy. The two-day occasion, which is set up to conclude April 25, confirms the objective preparedness, consisting of all systems, facilities, and groups that will support the launch.Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The astronauts will invest about a week at the orbiting lab before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.
