NASA, Boeing to launch uncrewed test flight to space station

LOS ANGELES -  NASA and Boeing are targeting next Thursday, May 19, to launch Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) to the International Space Station (ISS).

Scheduled to launch at 6:54 p.m. EDT, OFT-2 is the second uncrewed flight for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, NASA said on Friday.

Starliner is expected to arrive at the ISS for docking about 24 hours after launch with more than 500 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies.

After a successful docking, Starliner will spend five to 10 days aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in the western United States, according to NASA.

The spacecraft will return with nearly 600 pounds of cargo, including reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.