NASA’s Boeing Starliner launch to ISS set for May 20; here’s how to watch live

The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V-rocket has rolled out to the launch pad and is ready to liftoff with Boeing’s Starliner capsule to the International Space Station (ISS). The Starliner will liftoff at 6:54 p.m. EDT [May 20 at 4:24 am (IST)] from the Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and reach its destination after almost a day-long journey. Notably, this mission named Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) would be Boeing's second launch attempt to the space station after the first one ended in a failure in 2019. 

How to watch the OFT-2 mission live?

The launch will be aired live on the NASA app, NASA TV and the agency's official website. You can also watch the broadcast on NASA's official Twitter handle or YouTube channel. According to the agency, the live telecast will begin at 3:30 am (IST) on May 20, which is about an hour before the rocket's liftoff. Yesterday, NASA gave a green flag to the mission after completing the launch readiness review of the integrated rocket-capsule system. 

OFT-2 will test Starliner's end-to-end capabilities

NASA says that the forthcoming mission will test the Starliner capsule and Atlas rocket's end-to-end capabilities from launch to docking to a return to Earth and landing in the desert. This launch is being conducted under NASA's Commercial Crew Program wherein the agency is looking for private launch providers to transport astronauts and supplies to and from the space station. Boeing is eyeing a license from NASA, which it would acquire only after proving its readiness for manned spaceflight missions. 

In 2019, the company had launched a spacecraft to the ISS but it failed to dock. Boeing, along with SpaceX, was awarded a contract by NASA for the procurement of launch vehicles but the mission failure stalled the company's acquisition of a NASA license. Meanwhile, the 172-foot-tall Atlas rocket has been rolled out to the launch pad and, according to Boeing, it will launch the Starliner at a speed of 28,123 kilometres per hour. The company even shared a short clip of the rocket being transported from ULA's integration building to the Space Launch Complex-41.