Skip to main content

How to watch Starliner’s first ISS dock attempt today

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is currently on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) after a successful launch aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday evening.

The spacecraft, which is on its second uncrewed test flight following a failed mission in 2019, is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 7:10 p.m. ET (4:10 p.m. PT) on Friday, May 20.

Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), as the mission is known, is crucial for Boeing as it seeks to prove that it has finally resolved the myriad of issues that ruined the first test flight and also prevented a second launch attempt in August last year.

Besides acting as a test flight, the spacecraft is also carrying with it 500 pounds of cargo for the station.

If the Starliner can dock at the space station on Friday, and also make a successful return to Earth next week in a parachute-assisted landing in New Mexico, then the next test flight will include a crew.

Assuming the crewed flight to the ISS goes as planned, NASA will finally have another transportation option — alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft — for astronaut missions to and from the ISS.

What to expect

The livestream will show the Starliner’s steady approach to the space station, with a real-time audio feed between Mission Control in Houston and the crew on the ISS also part of the broadcast.

We’ll also get to see Boeing’s spacecraft attempt its first-ever docking with the space station. Starliner, like the Crew Dragon, features an automatic docking system that should enable it to autonomously link up with the orbital outpost.

Friday’s docking maneuver is a highly anticipated part of the mission as the spacecraft never got this far on its first test flight three years ago.

How to watch

NASA will begin its livestream of the Starliner’s arrival at the space station at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT) on Friday, May 20.

The actual docking is scheduled to take place about three-and-a-half hours later at 7:10 p.m. ET (4:10 p.m. PT).

You can watch the livestream via the video player embedded at the top of this page, or by visiting NASA’s website, which will carry the same feed.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
NASA eyes weather for Friday’s Crew-7 launch. Here’s how it’s looking
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on May 30, for the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon capsule. flight

NASA and SpaceX are about to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in the Crew-7 mission.

The crew comprises American Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency), Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Konstantin Borisov of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency. They'll spend six months living and working aboard the station orbiting about 250 miles above Earth.

Read more
How to watch India attempt to join exclusive moon-landing club
space based solar power earths moon nearside

Chandrayaan-3 Mission Soft-landing LIVE Telecast

India is about to make a bold attempt to land a module on the moon.

Read more
Watch NASA’s trailer for Friday’s crewed launch to the ISS
SpaceX's Crew-7 astronauts.

NASA and SpaceX are pretty much ready for Friday’s launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station.

The space agency posted a video on Monday as part of the build-up for Friday’s launch. You can watch it below.

Read more