![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/spacestation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/240\/2024\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image-6.png\")
<\/a>NASA astronauts <\/span>Butch Wilmore<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Suni Williams<\/span><\/a> held a virtual question and answer session with media on May 1, from inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of their launch to the space station.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been through training and we have our fingerprints on every single procedure that exists for this spacecraft,\u201d said Wilmore. <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re fully trained in all aspects of Starliner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Wilmore and Williams have quarantined inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building since they arrived at the Florida spaceport April 25.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Operations and Checkout Building dates back to the Apollo program and was used for missions under the Space Shuttle Program. Located on the third floor, the crew quarters consists of 23 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. The area also includes <\/span>the suitup room, where teams help astronauts into their spacesuits before they exit the building and enter a vehicle to take them to the launch pad.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Wilmore and Williams will be the first to fly aboard Boeing\u2019s Starliner spacecraft, launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station. <\/span>The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a <\/span>parachute and airbag-assisted landing<\/span><\/a> in the southwestern United States.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe feel very safe and very comfortable when this spacecraft flies,\u201d said Williams. \u201cThis is where we\u2019re supposed to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After <\/span>successful <\/span>completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. <\/span>The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Launch is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n Watch a replay of the question and answer session here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Elyna Niles-Carnes <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams held a virtual question and answer session with media on May 1, from inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of their launch to the space station.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve been through training and we have our fingerprints on every single procedure that exists \u2026 Continue reading