– For the first time in over 56 years, astronauts will be launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida next week aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on an Atlas V rocket.
– The last time humans launched from Cape Canaveral was in 1968 for the Apollo 7 mission.
– The two NASA astronauts assigned to the mission, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, arrived at Kennedy Space Center last week ahead of their scheduled May 6th launch.
– This will serve as Boeing’s first crewed flight for its Starliner capsule, which is making its debut test flight after years of delays. It aims to carry crew to the International Space Station.
– No astronauts were aboard Boeing’s two prior uncrewed Starliner test flights in 2019 and 2022 which encountered software and other issues.
– The upcoming crewed flight is intended to help Boeing catch up to SpaceX, which has been launching astronauts for NASA since 2020.
– If successful, it will be the first time since Apollo that astronauts launch from Florida on their way to the ISS.
Source: WFLA
