Christine Thropp
Boeing and NASA are in preparation to send two space agency astronaut test pilots to the International Space Station for the first crewed flight of the aerospace company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
The launch of Boeing Crew Flight Test is planned for early February 2023 as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and CFT astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams and mission and crew support teams are training and preparing for it, the space agency said Friday.
An integrated crew exercise was recently held to practice various launch event scenario responses as well as the prelaunch timeline. Another preparation involving vehicle systems and interfaces will be done in the coming weeks to help ensure crew health and safety.
A United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket will liftoff Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
NASA is expected to start the Starliner’s final certification for crewed ISS missions following a successful CFT program.
