Mission Reports

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft thundered into orbit Thursday from Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, aiming to dock at the International Space Station on a years-late test flight to prove the capsule’s systems before flying astronauts.

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule lifted off on its second orbital test flight Thursday, riding a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket off the pad at Cape Canaveral at 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 GMT). The mission is heading for the International Space Station.

The NASA astronauts training for the first crew missions on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will be closely watching each step of the capsule’s unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, set for blastoff Thursday from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas 5 rocket.