ULA Atlas V to Launch Starliner Crew Flight Test from Cape Canaveral on Monday, May 6
By Space Coast Daily // April 30, 2024
coverage of the launch can be seen on Space Coast Daily TV
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft on May 6 with two NASA astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita (Suni) Williams on the Crew Flight Test (CFT).
Following separation from Atlas V, Starliner engines will burn taking it the rest of the way to orbit and on to the International Space Station. CFT is ULA’s first human launch.
Liftoff will occur at 10:34 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
CFT is the final test to demonstrate the full end-of-end capabilities of the Starliner system to deliver crews to and from the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The unique Atlas configuration for Starliner includes a dual-engine Centaur upper stage to deliver the performance needed to shape the trajectory for crew safety; a launch vehicle adapter that structurally attaches the Starliner to the Atlas V rocket for ascent; a 70-inch-long (1.8-m) aeroskirt to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics, stability and loads of the Atlas V; and an Emergency Detection System that provides an extra layer of safety for astronauts riding the reliable Atlas V.
The Atlas V Starliner launch countdown features a four-hour planned, built-in hold at the T-minus 4-minute mark. This allows the rocket to be fueled and placed in a quiescent state before boarding of the astronauts into the spacecraft.
Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41), the East Coast home of the Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, employs a “clean pad” concept of operations to ready launch vehicles and payloads for ascent into space.
Coverage of the launch can be seen on Space Coast Daily TV.
