A milestone 10 years in the making, the first spaceflight of Boeing Starliner, with people on board.

The crew flight test or CFT is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force station.

On board, veteran NASA astronauts, Barry Butch Wilmore, and Sunita Suni Williams.

NASA awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion fixed contract to develop Starliner back in 2014, part of the commercial

crew program to replace the space shuttle.

SpaceX also is part of the program with its dragon capsule, which began carrying its first astronauts back in 2020.

Boeing though has faced a series of delays including a failed first uncrued flight and a variety of technical issues.

NASA's administrator Bill Nelson says he flight and a variety of technical issues.

NASA's administrator Bill Nelson says he has confidence in Boeing

and that the company has gone to extraordinary lengths

to ensure this first crewed mission will be a success.

I'm very confident of this spacecraft.

As a matter of fact, any time that you do a new spacecraft,

there are a lot of chinks to get ironed out.

CFT will last roughly 10 days carrying its passengers to the International Space Station

before returning to Earth in a parachute and airbag assisted ground landing.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 will transport Starliner to orbit, marking the first time

ever the workhorse rocket has blown people.

If all goes according to plans, Starliner could

begin ferrying astronauts to the ISS in the first of six NASA contracted

missions as soon as next year. Something I discussed last month with Boeing Defense Space and

Security Vice President K Sears who oversees the company Starliner program.

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