After about a decade of setbacks and challenges, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is set to head to orbit with crew aboard for the first time tomorrow evening. To say that it has been a roller coaster for engineers and managers of the legacy-rich company would be a massive understatement, but the mood among the Space Coast workers at Boeing is best described as quietly confident.

“I see a total focus on this mission and making it successful from the way that we always have done human spaceflight in my time at NASA,” Steve Stich, head of NASA’s Commercial Crew program recently said. Stich, like other NASA officials, have stated their confidence in Boeing, and of course, United Launch Alliance for a successful mission.

The main object of tomorrow’s flight is to test Starliner, to give it a shakedown cruise and to determine how it behaves with crew aboard. If all goes well during ascent and initially after achieving orbit, astronauts Williams and Wilmore will begin those tests and also begin matching orbits with the International Space Station, where they plan to dock later this week.

Launch

Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 PM EDT tomorrow, Monday, May 6th. The launch window is instantaneous, which is normal for ISS launches. This is necessary because docking with the ISS requires matching both the speed and position of the ISS, which moves at 7.7 km every second. Timing the launch to within a second greatly simplifies chasing down the orbiting outpost.

Starliner will be carried to orbit aboard an Atlas V N22, a crew rated variant of the Atlas V 422. This version of Atlas V has two solid motor strap on boosters with two liquid fueled stages.

Trajectory

As Starliner is planned to launch on a northeasterly trajectory, as is customary for ISS-bound launches. Space Coast residents may recall that previous SpaceX cargo resupply and Commercial Crew missions take the same path.

Weather

The 45th Weather Squadron is calling for only a 5% Probability of Violation of range weather conditions for launch, meaning there is a 95% chance that weather will be acceptable. Their only concern is the Cumulus Cloud Rule.

In their launch discussion, the 45th says that “A ridge is expected to settle in over North Central Florida by Monday and remain in place for several days. This ridge should bring southeasterly winds and cause any precipitation and thunderstorm development from the afternoon sea breeze to form well inland of the Spaceport. Any convection that does develop should remain west of Interstate 95 and have decayed away by the launch window..”

Sky Cover

The National Weather Service is expecting roughly 33% cloud coverage tomorrow night. The launch should be well visible to most spectators, but from time to time, their view may be blocked by a cloud.

Booster Recovery

None. Atlas V is a fully expendable launch system, so after Main Engine Cutoff of the first stage, it will seperate and fall into the Atlantic Ocean. Atlas V’s second stage, a dual-engine Centaur, will be purposely re-entered after Starliner separation.

Watching Online

SpaceCoastLaunchCalendar.com will have a livestream of the launch if you’re not able to watch the launch in person: Livestream

United Launch Alliance will have a livestream of the launch on their website: ULA Crewed Flight Test

Boeing is also offering a livestream of the launch: Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test

Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link

Watching In Person

This evening’s planned launch is from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral, which means that the best direct views of liftoff are: Banana River Bridge on FL-528 W near Port Canaveral, or the southern parks on US-1 / S. Washington Avenue in Titusville. Kennedy Point Park and Rotary Riverfront Park (among others) are your best bets.

You can also view the launch from the area beaches, which will have good views of the ascending rocket after it clears any ground obstructions.

Be prepared for potential changes or pushbacks in the launch schedule, and keep up by monitoring the live stream links mentioned above.