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fullscreenBoeing’s Starliner spacecraft and the Atlas V rocket. Stock photography. Photo: Chris O’Meara/AP/TT
It will be the third successful launch of Boeing’s manned Starliner spacecraft, after it was halted at very short notice on the previous two attempts. On both occasions, the two astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were strapped and ready in the craft – only to then be forced to return to the strict quarantine they spend the time in before departure.
The third attempt is planned to take place shortly before 5 pm Swedish time on Wednesday, from Florida in the USA.
The test flight, which is already several years late, is an important step for Nasa, which has long been looking for another private partner to be able to take astronauts to the ISS, something that Elon Musk’s Space X succeeded in doing in 2020.