WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After two failed launch attempts, the crewed flight test of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station is set to launch from Space Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, is scheduled to blast off at 10:52 a.m. ET.
If everything works out as planned, the Starliner and its crew will return to Earth for a landing in White Sands, New Mexico, on June 14 from the International Space Station after spending more than a week aboard the microgravity laboratory.
The long-awaited space flight was scrubbed at the last minute due to technical glitches on May 6 and June 1.
A failed power distribution source that halted the second launch attempt was changed on June 2. The Starliner mission management team reviewed multiple aspects of the replacement and troubleshooting steps and polled 'go' to proceed, NASA said.
'I really appreciate all the work by the NASA, Boeing, and ULA teams over the last week,' said Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. 'In particular, the ULA team worked really hard to quickly learn more about these issues, keep our NASA and Boeing teams informed, and protect for this next attempt. We will continue to take it one step at a time.'
The weather forecast shows favorable conditions with U.S. Space Force meteorologists from the 45th Weather Squadron predicting a 90 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. The ascent corridor and onshore winds weather also is forecast to be acceptable in the unlikely case of an emergency abort during the launch, according to NASA.
Wilmore and Williams have been preparing for launch with proficiency training in the meantime. The two remain quarantined at Kennedy Space Center ahead of liftoff.
The former Navy test pilots will be the first to launch aboard Starliner to the space station as part of the U.S space agency's Commercial Crew Program.
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