Starliner nears first crew launch to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V liquid cryogenic fuel tanks on the booster and upper stages are now fueled and the launch vehicle is in stable replenish mode. Now that the rocket is in a stable condition and dynamic loading of cryogenic propellants is complete, launch teams have entered an extended, planned hold to allow ingress of the Crew Flight Test astronauts into Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are en route to the launch pad where the joint Boeing-United Launch Alliance pad team is preparing for their arrival. Once there, the team will open the hatch, load the astronauts into Starliner and conduct final closeout procedures.