Boeing has began fueling up its Starliner capsule forward of the car’s first-ever astronaut launch.That mission, referred to as Crew Flight Take a look at (CFT), is at present scheduled to launch in early Could atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Area Power Station, on Florida’s Atlantic coast. It should ship NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) for a roughly 10-day keep.On Monday (March 18), Boeing introduced that it had taken a big step towards launch — starting to load propellant into Starliner, a course of that may take about two weeks.Associated: Starliner: Boeing’s next-generation spaceship for astronautsThe exercise is happening at Boeing’s Business Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA’s Kennedy Area Middle, which is subsequent door to Cape Canaveral Area Power Station.”Conducting the propellant loading operation is a staff made up of specifically skilled technicians, in addition to fluids, propellant and electrical take a look at engineers,” Boeing wrote in a short replace on Monday.”All through the operation, take a look at teammates monitor the spacecraft, together with sensors and valves, in addition to the surroundings inside the C3PF,” they added.Breaking house information, the newest updates on rocket launches, skywatching occasions and extra!In September 2014, NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX multibillion-dollar contracts by way of its Business Crew Program. Elon Musk’s firm has already launched eight operational astronaut flights to the ISS for the company, in addition to one crewed take a look at mission, however Starliner has but to hold individuals.Boeing’s capsule has launched twice to this point, on uncrewed take a look at flights to the orbiting lab. Starliner suffered a number of issues on the primary mission, which launched in December 2019, and failed to satisfy up with the ISS as deliberate. However it succeeded on its second try, in Could 2022.CFT was speculated to launch final summer time however has been pushed again a number of occasions resulting from technical points, chief amongst them an issue with the suspension traces on Starliner’s foremost parachutes and the truth that a lot of its wiring was wrapped in flammable tape. However technicians have mounted these issues, and CFT is on monitor for a liftoff this spring, NASA and Boeing officers say.