Starliner Astronauts Arrive At Cape

The prime and backup crews for the upcoming Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test arrived at Kennedy Space Center this afternoon. They landed on the storied Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) — the same runway that Space Shuttle orbiters returned to at the completion of their missions.

After offering some remarks and answering questions from the press, the crew departed to begin final preparations for their upcoming launch, planned for May 6, 2024, at 10:34 PM EDT. After a successful liftoff and some time in orbit to catch up with the International Space Station, the pair will dock at the orbiting laboratory and stay for about a week.

Wilmore began his remarks by saying, “Suni and I were talking. We love Florida! We love Kennedy Space Center because this is where you launch humans into space.” True, and Wilmore thanked everyone working on the upcoming Starliner launch. “You just want to mention everybody’s name,” he said. Wilmore then pointed out the NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance managers present at the arrival and thanked them and the backup crew members and other astronauts working this launch alongside the prime crew.