Video: Alice Bowman, New Horizons mission operations manager, previews Ultima Thule flyby (members only)

United Launch Alliance and Boeing teams worked through the weekend on closeouts of the Starliner crew capsule, inspections and final outfitting of the Atlas 5 rocket. A launch readiness review Tuesday approved the continuation of final preparations for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Friday of the first Starliner spacecraft on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station.

The claims outlined in the report stem from whistleblower information and documents from NASA to its workforce. The report was published less than 48 hours before the end of the 2025 fiscal year.

The mission will focus on proving the reusability of the rocket and not on additional flight objectives, like operating the payload bay door or reigniting the vacuum engines on the Ship upper stage. The June 5 launch window opens at 7 a.m. CDT (8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC).