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ULA’s launch team to employ extended Atlas 5 countdown for Starliner missions
The Atlas 5 countdown leading up to Friday's early morning liftoff from Cape Canaveral with Boeing's Starliner crew capsule will be several hours longer than usual.
Starliner test flight to use special Atlas 5 configuration, unusual launch trajectory
The 81st flight of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, set for liftoff Friday from Cape Canaveral, will come with its share of firsts when it sends Boeing's Starliner crew capsule toward the International Space Station on an unpiloted test flight. The launcher will fly without a payload shroud, which typically envelopes satellites during liftoff, and it will debut an uprated dual-engine Centaur upper stage that will power the Starliner on a unique suborbital trajectory optimized for astronaut comfort.
Photos: Atlas 5, Starliner on the launch pad at sunset
An Atlas 5 rocket and a Starliner crew capsule stand at pad 41 in these images taken at sunset Dec. 18.
Photos: Atlas 5 rolls out to launch pad for Starliner test flight
United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket, modified for crewed launches, rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility Wednesday for the 1,800-foot trek to pad 41 in preparation for liftoff with Boeing's Starliner crew capsule on an unpiloted mission to the International Space Station.
VideoLive coverage: Starliner lands in New Mexico
Boeing's Starliner crew capsule accomplished an early at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 7:58 a.m. EST (5:58 a.m. MST; 1258 GMT) Sunday to conclude an abbreviated two-day unpiloted test flight after a timing error on the spacecraft shortly after launch prevented it from linking up with the International Space Station as planned.
NASA gives go-ahead for Starliner test flight to space station
NASA officials cleared Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for flight Thursday after a "thorough and comprehensive" review of the crew capsule's readiness, setting the stage for final pre-launch preparations at Cape Canaveral ahead of liftoff Dec. 20 on an unpiloted demonstration mission to the International Space Station.
ULA rehearses countdown for first Starliner launch on Atlas 5 rocket
United Launch Alliance teams ran through an 11-hour countdown Friday at Cape Canaveral to rehearse procedures before the first flight of a modified Atlas 5 rocket with Boeing's Starliner crew capsule Dec. 20.
Photos: Starliner makes first appearance on launch pad
This gallery of photos shows the rollout Tuesday of United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket and Boeing's Starliner crew capsule to pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, plus additional views of the 172-foot-tall launcher standing next to the crew access tower Wednesday as teams prepared for a countdown rehearsal.
Launch of first Starliner orbital test flight slips to Dec. 19
The first launch of Boeing's Starliner space capsule aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket has been delayed to Dec. 19, officials announced Tuesday.
Live coverage: Launch readiness review gives approval for final Atlas 5 flight preps
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.