At Last, Boeing's Competitor Strikes True in Race to the Top

The United Launch Alliance was proud to announce the successful liftoff of an Atlas V carrying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner out of Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

It's a first, and much needed success for the brand, after a series of missteps and developmental whiffs along the way. The Starliner is meant to one day make up half of NASA's actual crew delivery craft in tandem with the SpaceX Crew Dragon, a proven performer with a number of launches already under its belt. The new launch carries NASA Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, marking what the Alliance refers to as "the return of human spaceflight to Cape Canaveral" while continuing a storied Atlas legacy.

“Safety is a critical part of the ULA decision-making process, and we are deeply honored to have been entrusted with the responsibility of starting the astronauts on their journey to the International Space Station, one that we will watching throughout their mission,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. 

“ULA has performed a tremendous amount of work in conjunction with our partners at Boeing and NASA to ensure our designs provide the highest level of safety to the crew and we will continue to prioritize our dedication to safety as we look forward to future launches in support of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.”

“My congratulations and sincerest gratitude to our unrivaled team and exceptional partners on the launch of a new era in human spaceflight aboard one of the most reliable rockets in the world,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. “It’s a profound honor to assist in enabling assured reliability and redundancy of crewed launches.”

FMI: www.ulalaunch.com