In a high-stakes test, Boeing will launch NASA astronauts to space for the first time

After years of delays, Boeing is finally set to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on its Starliner spacecraft.

The capsule is scheduled to lift off Monday at 10:34 p.m. ET, atop an Atlas V rocket at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams will pilot the Starliner on its inaugural crewed flight — a crucial final test before NASA can authorize Boeing to conduct routine flights to and from the space station for the agency.

The stakes are high. This will be Boeing's first launch with humans aboard its spaceship, and it comes after years of delays, technical setbacks and significant budget overruns. If successful, the flight will enable Boeing to challenge the dominance held by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has been ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the orbiting outpost since 2020.

Both companies' spacecraft were developed under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which was established after its space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011. The goal: incentivize and help fund the creation of new, commercially built vehicles capable of flying to and from low-Earth orbit.

At a preflight briefing last week, Wilmore said safety is paramount and that previous Starliner launch attempts — both uncrewed and crewed — were delayed because the capsule simply was not ready until now.

"Why do we think it's as safe as possible? We wouldn't be standing here if we didn't," Wilmore told reporters.

Still, there are inherent risks with any new spacecraft or rocket.

"Do we expect it to go perfectly? This is the first human flight of the spacecraft," Wilmore said. "I'm sure we'll find things out. That's why we do this. This is a test flight."

The plan is for the astronauts to