NASA, Boeing launch first crewed mission to space station

LOS ANGELES -- NASA and Boeing launched the first crewed mission of Starliner spacecraft from the US state of Florida on Wednesday, sending two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

The spacecraft launched at 10:52 am Eastern Time on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

ULA confirmed the Atlas V rocket's Centaur upper stage has completed its burn off the coast of Newfoundland, putting Starliner on course to reach the space station.

The spacecraft is set to dock to the ISS on Thursday, or June 6.

The flight test will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to ISS for about a week to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before NASA certifies the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbiting laboratory for the agency's Commercial Crew Program.

The spacecraft was previously scheduled to launch on Saturday. But the mission was called off minutes before launch due to technical issues.