Boeing Spacecraft Launches with NASA Astronauts for First Time In History

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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Two NASA astronauts made history as the first members aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 on June 4, 2025 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to the International Space Station. Wilmore and Williams will test Starliner’s in-orbit capabilities as they soar to the International Space Station where they will stay for approximately one week before returning to Earth, landing in the western United States on June 14.⁣

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil. The goal of the program is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation on space station missions, which will allow for additional research time.

Launch of the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket and Boeing Starliner spacecraft took place just before 11am eastern time. Starliner will dock to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 12:15 p.m., Thursday, June 6.

 

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