Today, the Atlas V rocket by United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully delivered the Starliner spacecraft to suborbital space. The Starliner will now propel itself to orbit to rendezvous with the International Space Station on its next mission known as Crew Flight Test (CFT). This mission aims to test the functionality of the Starliner spacecraft and the Atlas V rocket as part of the Commercial Crew program, in which NASA will purchase “seats” instead of contracting out spacecraft development on a cost-plus basis. The crewed demonstration mission to the International Space Station is expected to be equivalent to SpaceX’s Crew Demo-2 mission in 2020.
The astronauts flying on the CFT mission are Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams. The Starliner spacecraft has faced delays for various reasons, starting with the failure of its first orbital flight test (OFT), which required a retest by Boeing at their own expense. These delays led to Christopher Ferguson, the original lead astronaut, stepping down from the mission.
Source: ULA Launch
TLDR: ULA’s Atlas V rocket successfully sent the Starliner spacecraft to suborbital space for the upcoming Crew Flight Test mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, with astronauts Wilmore and Williams aboard. Delayed due to a failed test, Boeing taking financial responsibility, and a replacement for the lead astronaut.
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