by Two NASA astronauts will soon make history as the first astronauts to launch into space on a Boeing spacecraft.
Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams are scheduled to ship to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 6, marking the first Crew Flight Test, or CFT, of a Boeing Starliner capsule.
The mission will launch Starliner on top of the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:34 pm EST on May 6 (0234 GMT May 7).
The pair will spend ten days in space on the orbiting laboratory before the crewed Starliner capsule returns to Earth, making a parachute and airbag landing in the southwestern United States. If all goes according to plan, here first crew flight test It will set the stage for using the Starliner capsule – which can carry four astronauts or a combination of crew and cargo – for crewed rotation missions to the space station.
Related: 1st Boeing Starliner astronaut flight: Live updates
Recently, the astronauts completed a full dress rehearsal for launch day on Friday (April 26), according to a statement from NASA. They will now spend the next week working on last minute preparations and training exercises.
Both Wilmore and Williams are veteran astronauts, having flown on two previous space missions to the space station. You can learn more about each of them below.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore
Barry Wilmore, also known as Butch, served as commander of Boeing’s first CFT Starliner. Wilmore is a 61-year-old US Navy Captain who joined NASA as an astronaut candidate in 2000. He has accumulated a total of 178 days in space and logged 5 hours and 36 minutes in four spacewalks.
He is from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee for Wilmore, where his parents still live today. He is married to the former Deanna Newport, with whom he shares two daughters, according to a biography from NASA. Wilmore holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee and is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) with over 8,000 flight hours and 663 carrier landings in tactical jet aircraft.
During his tenure as a Navy and naval aviation officer, Wilmore completed four operational deployments, flying the A-7E and F/A-18 aircraft from the decks of the USS Forrestal, USS Kennedy, USS Enterprise and the aircraft carriers USS Eisenhower, according to his biography. His last combat mission was his deployment aboard the USS Eisenhower with the “Blue Blasters” of Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34). Prior to joining NASA, Wilmore was a Flight Test Instructor for the United States Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Wilmore has two space flights under his belt. Before this he was a pilot on shuttle Atlantis’ STS-129 mission to the ISS in 2009 and in command Tour 42 during 167 days starting September 25, 2014 until March 12, 2015. On its second mission, Wilmore made three spacewalks to prepare the orbiting laboratory for new international bold adapters and future US commercial crewed spacecraft. He also completed a spacewalk with fellow astronaut Reid Wiseman to replace a failed voltage regulator.
Sunny L. Williams
Starliner pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1998. Before joining NASA, she served as a US Navy Captain and logged more than 3000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Massachusetts her hometown. She and her husband, Michael, enjoy spending time with their dogs and share a variety of interests such as hiking and camping, she said. biography from NASA. The 58-year-old holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Science from the US Naval Academy, as well as a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.
When Williams was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1998, she was deployed aboard the USS Saipan amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. After her astronaut training, Williams worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency on Russia’s contribution to the space station and the first Expedition Crew. She subsequently worked within the robotics branch on the space station’s robotic Arm and the follow-up Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.
Williams has previously completed two stints aboard the space station, totaling 322 days in space and logging 50 hours and 40 minutes of spacewalks – the second most accumulated spacewalks by a female astronaut. She first flew to the ISS on the Discovery space shuttle as part of Expedition 14/15 for a six month stay from December 9, 2006 to June 22, 2007.
After her first flight, she served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office. Then, in 2012, Williams returned to space for a four-month mission as Flight Engineer for Expedition 32 and Commander for Expedition 33. During her second long-duration mission, she made spacewalks to replace a component that relays power from the Sun. space stations. system arrays and fix an ammonia leak on a station radiator. In addition to his time in space, Williams has lived underwater in the Aquarius habitat for 9 days as a staff member of NEEMO2.
