Boeing Starliner spacecraft integrated to ULA Atlas V rocket

On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, Boeing rolled out the Starliner spacecraft early in the morning to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

The spacecraft left the parking lot at around 5 a.m. Eastern time from the back of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility on a transport vehicle.

It then moved slowly on a 10-mile (16-kilometer) journey to ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Starliner spacecraft was lifted and integrated on top of ULA’s Atlas V rocket.

The integration comes ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. Buctch Wilmore and Suni Williams are the two astronauts who will be the first passengers boarding Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Boeing Starliner Spacecraft Integration to United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V5 Rocket (Image Credit: Boeing Space)

NASA planned a liftoff no earlier than 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday on May 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Force Station in Florida.

These astronauts will spend about a week at the space station before the capsule makes a parachute and airbag-supported landing in the southwestern U.S.

A successful mission will enable NASA to certify Starliner spacecraft and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. NASA and all involved parties will complete flight preps with these two astronauts in Houston after arriving at the launch site no earlier than Thursday, April 25.

You can check the Boeing Starliner integration into the ULA Atlas V rocket.

See #Starliner roll out from our factory to @ulalaunch‘s Vertical Integration Facility for its Crew Flight Test. Starliner is now stacked on the #AtlasV rocket for a May 6 launch. pic.twitter.com/ovrdclFFEZ

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) April 16, 2024