TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Two rockets will lift off from Florida’s east coast on Monday.
The long-awaited launch of the Boeing Starliner capsule – its first with a crew on board – to the International Space Station is set for Monday evening after years of delays.
Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams will pilot the Starliner during the flight, which is the final test before NASA can allow Boeing to regularly fly to the space station.
Boeing’s Starliner crew hosts news conference ahead of launch
Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. EDT. The capsule sits atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
At the nearby Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX plans to launch its Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink communication satellites. That launch is scheduled for 12:36 p.m. EDT, with backup opportunities until 2:48 p.m. EDT.
If necessary, SpaceX can try again on Tuesday beginning at 11:08 a.m. EDT. It will be the 15th flight for this Falcon 9 rocket.
Weather conditions look good for Monday’s launch attempts, according to forecasters at Patrick Space Force Base. There’s only a 10% chance of weather interfering with the SpaceX launch. It drops to just 5% in time for the Starlink launch.
Starliner’s debut test flight without a crew in 2019 ended up in the wrong orbit and failed to reach the space station, forcing Boeing to repeat the demo before astronauts could fly. Following more reviews last year, the company had to fix the capsule’s parachutes and yank out a mile of flammable tape.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.