# @nasa on Instagram - **Type:** Image - **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C72X42qp9Gd - **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/18668755-nasa-instagram - **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/17a1a0f70f.jpg - **Posted:** 2024-06-05T21:45:27.000+00:00 - **Account Owner:** NASA (@NASA) — https://gondola.cc/NASA ## Caption Starliner to the stars ✨⁣ ⁣ At 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC), Boeing’s #Starliner spacecraft lifted off atop ULALaunch’s Atlas V rocket—carrying astronauts for the very first time. NASAAstronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will test Starliner’s in-orbit capabilities as they soar to the ISS, where they will stay for approximately one week before returning to Earth, landing in the western United States on June 14.⁣ ⁣ This is one of the final steps to certifying the Starliner spacecraft for regular long-duration trips to the International Space Station. Tune in at nasa.gov/live for rendezvous coverage starting Thursday, June 6, at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 UTC). Docking is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 UTC), as Starliner, Butch, and Suni are welcomed by the station’s orbiting crew.⁣ ⁣ Image descriptions: ⁣ 1 - A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard, launches from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Florida. ⁣ 2 – A closeup of the rocket’s engines as it lifts off. A plume of fire and smoke billows from below the engines.⁣ 3 - NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams wear Boeing spacesuits as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky⁣ ⁣ #NASA #Space #Launch #Liftoff #Astronauts #ISS #SpaceStation #AtlasV #Rocket ## Stats - **Views:** 0 - **Likes:** 634,196 - **Shares:** 0 - **Comments:** 2,016 ## Tags spacestation, nasa, starliner, rocket, launch, iss, astronauts, space, atlasv, liftoff --- Copyright (c) Gondola