With support from the Tennessee Valley, two NASA astronauts will depart on an historic mission to the International Space Station.

The Decatur-built United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carried the Boeing Starliner spacecraft into orbit for the roughly 25-and-a-half-hour journey to the ISS after lifting off at 10:52 a.m. EDT from the Cape Canaveral Space Command Station. Commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams are scheduled to rendezvous and dock with the space station at approximately 12:15 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

“Safety is a key part of ULA's decision-making process and we are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of launching astronauts' journey to the International Space Station. We will be following their journey throughout their mission,” said Gary Wentz, ULA's vice president of government and commercial programs. “ULA has worked hard, working with our partners at Boeing and NASA, to ensure the design provides the highest level of safety for crew members. Our dedication to safety will remain our top priority as we look forward to future launches in support of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.”

The manned flight test mission was historic in several ways.

As the first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, Williams will be the first woman to fly aboard the first crewed spacecraft. The launch will also be the first crewed launch aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket, and the first crewed launch aboard an Atlas family-class rocket since Gordon Cooper's final flight of Project Mercury aboard Faith 7 in May 1963.

Thank you to our team and partners @NASA, Follow, @NASAKennedy, translation:and Johnson For today's important role #Starliner launch. pic.twitter.com/D1X1o2RXSw

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 5, 2024

Congressman Dale Strong, whose district includes the Boeing plant, the ULA rocket factory and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, offered his congratulations on the mission.

“I congratulate Boeing, United Launch Alliance and NASA on the successful first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft,” said Senator Strong (R-Monrovia). “This launch was the culmination of significant collaboration and years of dedicated work, much of it right here in north Alabama.”

“I also want to congratulate ULA for maintaining a 100% launch success rate, which is a testament to the quality of their work.”

As the mission continued, the Atlas V's mission was completed, sending the Starliner and its crew into a suborbital distance of 98 nautical miles. After separation from the Atlas V, the Starliner's engines ignited, putting the crew on a trajectory to the space station.

“Congratulations and gratitude to our unparalleled team and outstanding partners for ushering in a new era of human spaceflight aboard one of the world's most reliable rockets,” said ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno. “We are honored to help ensure reliability and redundancy for human launch.”

The 10-foot-diameter, 41.5-foot-long Centaur upper stage uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power two Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10A-4-2 engines. Centaur's twin engine burn lasted just over seven minutes before the engines shut down and separated from the Starliner.

After separation, Atlas Centaur landed in the ocean near Australia.

This story was originally 256 today.