Boeing Starliner Launches on Orbital Flight Test-2, Postlaunch News Conference at 9 p.m. EDT

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system’s capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is safely in orbit heading for the International Space Station following launch of the next-generation spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket on a mission designed to test the end-to-end capabilities of the crew-capable system.

The Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to dock to the space station at 7:10 p.m. on Friday, May 20. The spacecraft is carrying more than 500 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies to the space station and returns to Earth with nearly 600 pounds of cargo, including reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.

Watch the postlaunch news conference, scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center on NASA TV.

Participants are:

Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate
Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
Joel Montalbano, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program
John Elbon, chief operating officer, United Launch Alliance

NASA’s Boeing OFT-2 television coverage returns on Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21 and will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

All times are subject to change based on mission operations (all times Eastern):

Friday, May 20
3:30 p.m. – NASA TV rendezvous and docking coverage begins
7:10 p.m. (approximately) – Docking

Saturday, May 21
11:30 a.m. – NASA TV hatch opening and welcoming remarks coverage begins
11:45 a.m. (approximately) – Hatch opening and welcoming remarks

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found in the press kit online and by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

For updates throughout the test, tune in to the space station blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/.