Boeing Starliner's first crewed mission with Sunita Williams onboard set for launch, aiming to rival SpaceX's success

At Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the capsule is set to take off on an Atlas V rocket on Monday at 10:34 p.m. ET. Prior to NASA approving Boeing to fly Starliner on regular trips to and from the space station, astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams will lead the spacecraft on its first crewed voyage.

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Boeing is launching their spacecraft for the first time with people on board following years of delays, technological difficulties, and large overhead costs.

Speaking about the test flight, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: "Because it is a test flight, we give extra attention. They're checking out a lot of the systems — the life support, the manual control, all of those things that you want to be checked out."

"That's why we put two test pilots on board, and of course the resumes of Butch and Suni are extensive," he added.

Also Read: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams gives insight into 1st crewed Boeing Starliner launch

What if the mission gets successful?

If the mission is successful, Boeing will have the opportunity to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has been transporting astronauts from NASA to and from the orbiting outpost since 2020.

The spacecraft of both firms were developed under NASA's Commercial Crew Programme following the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011.

During a preflight briefing held last week, Wilmore stated that safety is the top priority and that the capsule was simply not ready for launch when the previous Starliner launch attempts, both crewed and uncrewed, were postponed.

"Why do we think it's as safe as possible? We wouldn't be standing here if we didn't," Wilmore told reporters.

"Do we expect it to go perfectly? This is the first human flight of the spacecraft," Wilmore said.

"I'm sure we'll find things out. That's why we do this. This is a test flight."

The astronauts are scheduled to dock with the space station the next day and stay there for around a week before making their way down to Earth and landing at Starliner's primary landing site in the White Sands Missile Range of New Mexico.

Also Read: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams gives insight into 1st crewed Boeing Starliner launch: 'It feels unreal'

How is NASA making sure they have backup plans?

Makena Young, a fellow with the Aerospace Security Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., noted that although NASA astronauts have been flying aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft for years, the agency does not want to depend on a single business.

"Having that second option is really important because it adds redundancy and resiliency," Young said, as per NBC News. "In space systems, there are always redundancies, because if something goes wrong, you want to make sure that you have backups."