On May 19, 2022, Boeing successfully launched a Starliner spacecraft on its second uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station for NASA.
The Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2 mission) will spend a week at the International Space Station before returning to Earth with a parachute-assisted landing. The August 2021 attempt was stopped due to stuck valves. The OFT-2 mission is being flown by Boeing because OFT-1 failed to reach the space station.
The OFT-2 Starliner will arrive at the space station on May 20 and spend five days at the outpost before returning to Earth.
The photo above shows Starliner launching atop its Atlas V rocket as seen by a United Launch Alliance camera at the Space Launch Complex 41 pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Live updates: Follow Boeing's Starliner OFT-2 mission here
Related: Everything you need to know about Boeing's Starliner OFT-2 mission
The United Launch Alliance uses Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to launch Atlas V.
The view shows how the pad has been changed for Starliner flights. The Crew Access Arm, which astronauts will use to enter the Starliner capsule during launches, is located in the blocky tower to the right of the Atlas V rocket.
This NASA photo of Boeing's Starliner launch shows a wider view of the Atlas V rocket as it soars toward space.
A NASA photographer captured a view of a huge cloud of exhaust billowing around the launch pad as a rocket soars to space.
The Starliner OFT-2 capsule took 31 minutes to reach its final destination. The Atlas V rocket carried Starliner for the first 11 minutes using a first stage booster, strap on solid rocket booster and a Centaur upper stage.
The Starliner capsule separated from the stage about 14 minutes into the flight. At the 31 minute mark, the spaceship fired its thrusters.
This is the last view of the Starliner OFT-2 before it docks at the International Space Station.
A camera on the upper stage of the Atlas V rocket captured this still of Starliner as it separated about 14 minutes after liftoff.
There are no live video views from inside or outside the OFT-2 vehicle, because Boeing is working on updates to the Starliners camera systems.
The Boeing graphic shows a critical moment in the Starliner OFT-2 mission when the spacecraft executed anorbital burn about 31 minutes after launch.
The maneuver was necessary for Starliner to reach its intended location. Software issues prevented the OFT-1 Starliner mission from reaching orbit during this phase of the flight, so the fact that OFT-2's burn went well was a major milestone.
Boeing engineers aren't sure why two of the 10 thrusters on Starliner failed during the maneuver, but they are investigating. The eight other thrusters were able to compensate for the drop out and it is not expected to have an issue for docking or the rest of the mission.
Boeing's Starliner OFT-2 capsule had a passenger on board as it flew into space.
Meet Rosie the Rocketeer! Rosie the Rocketeer is a dummy designed to test the forces and G-loads an astronauts will feel during a launch to space aboard Starliner.
The Starliner will carry 500 pounds of supplies to the space station. 600 pounds of cargo will be brought back to Earth.
The second flight test of the Starliner was expected to feature the Rosie the Riveter coins.
You can see the scale of the booster from the Starliner space capsule. The United Launch Alliance engineers and workers are far below on the transporter path to the pad.
The Starliner OFT-2 mission was launched using an Atlas V rocket with two solid rocket boosters. The rocket has a first stage powered by an engine.
The United Launch Alliance photo shows the path from the Vertical Integration Building to the launch pad.
ULA and Boeing became the second commercial team to launch a private spaceship intended to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, with the May 19 OFT-2 launch.
In May 2020, the first company to fly crewed flights to the station was SpaceX.
The image shows a clear view of the Boeing Starliner space capsule atop the Atlas V rocket.
The Starliner is about 15 feet wide and about 16 feet tall. It is designed to carry up to four astronauts to the space station and then return to Earth in the western United States.
Spectators along the eastern seaboard of the United States may be able to see the launch of the Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2 mission. The visibility map shows where the rocket will be visible after liftoff.
The Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 is a NASA project.
This graphic shows docking operations for NASA's Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2.
The Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 is a NASA project.
The Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is a NASA project.
The Starliner flight test patches are Pad Abort Test, Orbital Flight Test, Orbital Flight Test 2, and Crewed Flight Test.
A Boeing technician holds a package of patches for the Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2.
There are flags and banners for historically black colleges and universities waiting to be packed for the second flight test.
The NASA flight controllers who will oversee the mission are represented in the patch by Boeing.
The Orbital Flight Test 2 Starliner capsule was loaded with a package of souvenirs by Boeing technicians.
On January 13, 2021, the fully assembled Starliner will be lifted into the air at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.