X

Boeing Starliner: Watch live as historic NASA mission launches to ISS

NASA's Commercial Crew Program has seen SpaceX take an uncrewed spaceship to the ISS -- now it's Boeing's turn.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Jackson Ryan Former Science Editor
Jackson Ryan was CNET's science editor, and a multiple award-winning one at that. Earlier, he'd been a scientist, but he realized he wasn't very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Science writing, he realized, was the best job in the world -- it let him tell stories about space, the planet, climate change and the people working at the frontiers of human knowledge. He also owns a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters.
Amanda Kooser
Jackson Ryan
2 min read
emmhubeueaakezy

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will launch to the ISS, for the first time, on Dec. 20.

NASA

When SpaceX sent the Crew Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS) in March, it heralded the beginning of a new era in human spaceflight. Now it's Boeing's turn to show it can send a spacecraft, designed for astronauts, from US soil up to the floating space lab. If successful, the mission will pave the way for a crewed launch in 2020, taking American astronauts to space for the first time since 2011. 

Boeing is set to launch its uncrewed CST-100 Starliner capsule with an assist from a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Friday, Dec. 20, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Boeing and NASA are aiming for a 3:36 a.m. PT (6:36 a.m. ET) liftoff time. The exact time, for those who like to watch the clock, is targeted for exactly 3:36:43 a.m. PT.

There are multiple ways to follow the action as Starliner prepares to make history. ULA is running a launch blog with live updates, and will also share a webcast. 

NASA TV will air a livestream starting at 2:30 a.m. PT on Friday. 

This is a key moment for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which is looking to launch astronauts from US soil to the ISS for the first time since the shuttle era ended in 2011. Boeing's Orbital Flight Test is the equivalent of the uncrewed SpaceX Crew Dragon mission that successfully reached the ISS earlier this year. 

SpaceX is now working toward launching actual astronauts into space. Boeing will need to ace the OFT before it takes the next step of welcoming humans on board Starliner. 

If Starliner stays on schedule, the capsule will dock with the ISS early Saturday morning. It will stay with the station until Dec. 27 before returning to Earth. 

"This test flight will give us valuable data about Starliner's performance in the actual environment through each phase of flight and demonstrate its capability to transport crew to the space station and bring them home safely," said NASA OFT mission manager Trip Healey in a statement Monday.

The Commercial Crew Program has hit many delays along the way, but successful tests of the SpaceX and Boeing capsules would put human spaceflight on track for 2020.

Beyond Apollo: See NASA aim for the moon with Artemis 2024

See all photos
Watch this: NASA taps SpaceX, Boeing to bring space travel back under America's wing

Updated Dec. 20: Boeing launch details added.