As Boeing, NASA, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) prepare for a third launch attempt of the Boeing Starliner set for June 5th, a lesser-known yet interesting fact has emerged. While the Starliner will be going to the ISS, it won’t be ULA’s Atlas/Centaur booster that takes it all the way there or even to low-earth orbit (LEO).
ULA CEO Tory Bruno clarified this misconception in a Tweet on “X” today. Responding to a question on X from a user about launching the upcoming Dream Chaser on ULA’s new Vulcan booster, Bruno pointed out that the Atlas is still a quite capable booster. Tory added that while the Atlas V can get Starliner to LEO, NASA chose not to utilize the capability on this particular mission.
In layman’s terms…..
After reaching a suborbital altitude, the Starliner Service Module’s 4 RS-88 engines will propel it to LEO and, ultimately, the ISS. Bruno went on to explain changes made to the Atlas V to accommodate the Starliner, which will be the first crewed launch onboard an Atlas (or any other ULA launch vehicle).
The weather remains 90% “GO” for the CFT-100 Starliner mission, set to launch tomorrow at 10:52 AM EDT from ULA’s SLC-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It will be the first crewed launch from Cape Canaveral since Apollo 7 in 1968.
The launch will be carried live on NASA TV. For those wishing to view the launch in person, we recommend KARS Park ($10 per car charge), or you can park anywhere along A1A where it crosses over the Banana River.
More information on launch viewing can be found here.
