After being delayed for years due to safety concerns, Boeing prepared for its maiden astronaut launch on Wednesday.
In the Boeing Starliner capsule, it was the third attempt at launch for NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams
The first two countdowns were stopped by rocket-related issues.
Before attempting to land Starliner in the western United States, the astronauts will test the ship’s systems en route to the International Space Station, where they will spend a minimum of one week
Following the retirement of the space shuttles, NASA engaged SpaceX and Boeing to ferry humans to and from the space station.
Since 2020, SpaceX has started transporting astronauts. In 2019, Boeing’s capsule launched into orbit without a crew, however technical issues caused the test flight to be aborted.
Boeing fared better on the retry flight in 2022, but the crew debut of Starliner was further delayed when parachute and other problems were eventually found.
United Launch Alliance, a manufacturer of rockets, had to replace a computer at the pad that failed only minutes before the scheduled liftoff on Saturday.
And early in May, an issue with a malfunctioning valve in the Atlas V rocket caused the launch to be abandoned.