Starliner making its first crewed spaceflight arrived to the ISS on June 6, one day after launching from Cape Canaveral with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board for what was supposed to be about an eight-day stay. Now they won’t get home for at least eight months.

“NASA has decided that Butch and Sunny will return with Crew-9 in February and that Starliner will return uncrewed,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press conference Saturday following an agency-level review of Starliner’s flight safety risk.

Dubbed the Crew Flight Test, Boeing has been trying to get Starliner certified to join SpaceX as one of two commercial providers to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. SpaceX has been doing the job from the U.S. for more than four years, and now Starliner has an uncertain future.

While trying to dock with ISS, problems with Starliner emerged with it propulsion system, when five of 28 reaction control system thrusters failed on approach. The propulsion module also suffered several helium leaks.

“Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and even at its most routine, and a test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine, and so the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety,” Nelson said. “Our core value is safety and it is our North Star.”

He said NASA’s decision considered the specter of the tragedies of Apollo 1, Space Shuttle Challenger and Space Shuttle Columbia.

“This whole discussion, remember, is put in the context of we have had mistakes done in the past,” Nelson added. “We lost two space shuttles as a result of there not being a culture in which information could come forward.”

What went wrong?

The problems that emerged on what had otherwise been a good trip up for Starliner to the ISS led to delays in a decision to return home while Boeing and NASA worked to figure out the source of the problem — including running a series of tests on the ground and hot firing Starliner while still attached to the ISS.

While four of the five thrusters came back online and ground tests revealed the likely cause, there remains nothing that can be done to fix the source problem now in space. The return flight could see a repeat of thruster failures, which are needed for the spacecraft’s departure from the ISS and its reentry burn to land on Earth.

“Our focus is on safety all the time and this certainly is no different. The uncertainty in our margins is where we have come to make the decision,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said. “That uncertainty remains in our understanding of the physics going on in the thrusters, and we still have some work to go.”

NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich said the data ultimately drove the decision.

“Bottom line relative to bringing Starliner back is there was just too much uncertainty in the prediction of the thrusters,” Stich said. “If we had a model, if we had a way to accurately predict what the thrusters would do for the undock and all the way through the deorbit burn and through the separation sequence, I think we would have taken a different course of action.”

He said ground testing results were a surprise to NASA and begun the shift in course where NASA began seriously considering keeping Williams and Wilmore on board the ISS and bringing Starliner home without crew.

Boeing future

While Boeing had in weeks past been stumping for a crewed return of the spacecraft to complete the mission as planned, Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, earlier this month revealed there has been dissent among NASA officials worried about the risk involved to the astronauts.

No Boeing official was at Saturday’s press conference, but NASA officials gave them credit and said they thought the decision ultimately laid in NASA’s hands.

“We want to further understand the root causes and understand the design improvements so that the Boeing Starliner will serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS,” Nelson said, noting he had just spoken with Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg. “I have expressed this to him. I told him how well Boeing worked with our team to come to this decision, and he expressed to me an intention that they will continue to work the problems once Starliner is back safely.”

Nelson later stated he believed “100%” that Boeing would continue with its efforts to satisfy their commercial crew contract, which calls for six Starliner flights to the ISS once the spacecraft is certified.

Boeing initially won the larger contract alongside SpaceX in 2016, but it was a fixed-price contract worth $4.2 billion for which Boeing has yet to see payout except for development costs. Years of Starliner program delays, though, including the company having to fly a do-over of its uncrewed flight test when the first go didn’t rendezvous with the ISS, have cost Boeing more than $1.6 billion to date.

“We expect delivery on the contract,” Nelson said.

NASA officials said they were looking at the requirements for certification but would not commit to say whether this completion of CFT minus humans on the way down would be good enough for certification.

Starliner’s planned departure date has not been revealed, but would come no earlier than September with a desert landing in the southwestern United States.

“We’ve accomplished a lot on this mission and learned a lot about this vehicle, satisfied a lot of the objectives,” Free said. “We’ll look at this as we do any of our missions to see does it fall into the any of the categories that we have that we define as a mishap? Once we get the vehicle back, that’s our time to look at that.”

Remaining in space

Wilmore and Williams then, would become active members of Expeditions 71 and 72, and would fly home on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom in February joining Crew-9, which slated to fly to the ISS no earlier than Sept. 24.

It’s set to fly up with two instead of four astronauts so Wilmore and Williams could take the remaining seats when that mission concludes. Which two astronauts fly up on Crew-9 and which stay home was not revealed by NASA.

The decision now stretches Williams and Wilmore stay on board the ISS to more than eight months. This is their third visit to the ISS with both having visited on both space shuttle flights as well as Russia Soyuz flights during their careers.

ISS Program Manager Dana Weigel said the long stay is not an issue since there have been some astronauts who have gone a year on board.

“While Butch and Suni are on board, they’ll be doing science station maintenance, they’ll execute the SpaceX (CRS-31) research and cargo mission, and we may have a couple spacewalks for them toward the end of their expedition,” she said.

In the last 2½ months, they’ve already completed about 100 hours of work on 42 different experiments along with critical station maintenance, she said.

“Since they’ve been up there, they’ve been a welcome set of helping hands,” she said.

Norm Knight, the head of NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate, said every astronaut understands the chance a mission could go longer than planned.

“They’re professionals. When they launch, they know that there are circumstances where they can be on board for up to a year,” he said. “So mentally, you know that you could be in that situation. Now, once you’re in the arena, obviously it’s a little different. It’s challenging. You know, it’s disappointing that that they’re not coming home on Starliner, but that’s OK. It’s a test flight. That’s what we do.”

What had been a tropical storm most of Sunday formed into a Category 1 hurricane before midnight, and continued to intensify overnight.

As of 5 a.m., the NHC said Debby was nearing landfall with 80 mph sustained winds as the eastern portion of the eyewall moved ashore. Its center was located about 70 miles south-southeast of Tallahassee and 45 miles northwest of Cedar Key with it moving north-northeast at 10 mph.

UPDATE: Conditions deteriorating in the northern eye wall of Hurricane Debby in Keaton Beach, Florida with shore parallel winds. Eye wall becoming better organized pic.twitter.com/Rg8NN4m0Fp

— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerUSA) August 5, 2024

A wind gust of 95 mph was recent recorded at a weather station on Horseshoe Beach.

Debby’s hurricane-force winds extended 45 miles from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds were observed 140 miles from Debby’s core.

“The eyewall of Debby is moving onshore and landfall in the Florida Big Bend is expected to occur within the next few hours,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi. “Doppler radar images from Tallahassee indicate that the eye of the hurricane has become a bit more circular and deep convection remains fairly well organized over the eastern eyewall, and in bands east of the center that have spread across portions of northern Florida.”

A hurricane warning remains in effect for the Florida coast from Yankeetown to Indian Pass with a tropical storm warning south of Yankeetown to Boca Grande and west of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach as well as on Florida’s east coast from St. Augustine north to the South Santee River in South Carolina.

A storm surge warning is in effect for the Florida coast from the middle of Longboat Key north to Indian Pass including Tampa Bay, and on the Georgia and South Carolina coast from the mouth of the St. Mary’s River to South Santee River. A storm surge watch is in  effect on the Florida coast from Englewood north to the middle of Longboat Key including Charlotte Harbor.

5 am EDT: Hurricane #Debby very near landfall in the Florida Big Bend. Life-threatening storm surge expected in portions of Florida and major flooding is forecast for the southeastern U.S. Here are the Key Messages. https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/iPUOesfYM6

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 5, 2024

“A gradual decrease in forward speed with a turn toward the northeast and east is expected later today and Tuesday,” Cangialosi said. “On the forecast track, the center will reach the Florida Big Bend coast later this morning. Debby is then expected to move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia late today and Tuesday, and be near the Georgia coast by Tuesday night.”

In Central Florida, the National Weather Service in Melbourne issued a tornado watch for the region including Orange, Osceola, Lake, Volusia, Brevard and Polk counties until 6 a.m. Monday. The tropical storm watch for Lake County was changed to a tropical storm warning, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.

“Outer rainbands of Debby will bring a threat of tropical storm-force wind gusts (up to 55 mph) overnight through Monday,” the National Weather Service said.

The NWS said additional rainfall of 2-5 inches was expected especially northwest of Interstate 4, with areas southeast to get up to 2 inches. Localized flooding is possible, the NWS said.

8:10 PM Aug 4 | A new tornado watch was just issued for portions of east Central Florida until 6 am ET Monday. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/ImzVrZszDM

— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) August 5, 2024

The system has grown since becoming Tropical Depression Four late Friday and developing into a tropical storm on Saturday.

“You could have serious intensification between now and landfall,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis during a press conference at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee early Sunday. “It could get up to 85, 90, 95 mph sustained wind. That is absolutely possible, particularly in parts of the state like here in Tallahassee. There’s going to be a lot of trees that are going to fall down. You’re going to have debris. You are going to have power interruption so just prepare for that.”

He said the state Department of Emergency Management had identified 17,000 lineman to work on power outages.

“We have assets in place in advance of the storm like we always do, and near the predicted areas of most severe impact,” DeSantis said, who noted the state was putting in floodwater protection around power substations for the first time.

He warned people to not focus on just the center path of the system.

“This is a big storm. I mean, you’re gonna have rain that’s going to be far beyond the center of the storm,” he said. “So just prepare for that just because you’re not in the eye of the storm does not mean you are not going to have major, major impacts from the storm.”

Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said the slow-moving system could bring torrential rainfall to some areas.

As #Debby moves toward the FL Big Bend area overnight, we will continue to monitor the outer rain bands especially west of Greater Orlando for gusty winds and a brief tornado. The Tornado Watch continues until 6 AM ET. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/apAr1OCJhb

— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) August 5, 2024

“We’re going to be into a catastrophic rain situation where we have situations in Florida that will receive 15 maybe as high as 20 inches of rain,” Guthrie said.

He also warned about storm surge for coastal areas as some counties have issued mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders.

“You could be left with no time to take action if you haven’t already evacuated as instructed,” Guthrie said. “The time to do that is now.”

He also reminded Floridians to avoid floodwaters after the storm passes.

“It is never safe to be in floodwaters, and there can be many, many hidden hazards such as live electrical wires, displaced wild animals, chemicals and hazardous waste,” Guthrie said. “Simply put, floodwaters are unhealthy and unsafe to be in, so do not walk or drive into them.”

The NHC expects rainfall from 6 to 12 inches with some areas getting up to 18 inches across portions of Florida, and up to 30 inches across parts of the Southeast U.S. this weekend and through Thursday morning that could cause flash and urban flooding as well as some isolated river flooding.

“This potentially historic rainfall will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding,” Cangialosi said.

The system had been building the last few days as a tropical wave that stretched hundreds of miles producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms moving across the northern Caribbean islands and southeastern Bahamas.

Gov. Ron DeSantis declared most counties under a state of emergency earlier this week. Floods could ensue if the system continued its current slow course or even stalled over the Florida peninsula.

In a second Sunday press conference DeSantis said northern Central Florida may see significant flooding. He said Debby’s forecast path is similar to Hurricane Idalia but it will bring much more rain than last year’s storm.

“We’re going to see much more inundation across, really across, the northern part of the state north of I-4,” DeSantis said. “But particularly in north Central Florida you’re going to have the potential for some significant flooding and that creates hazards, that creates risk, so please take care of yourself.”

DeSantis also warned of possible flooding after the hurricane passes through the state.

“There may be immediate impacts that you see but you could also see flooding that happens days afterward, after the storm passes,” DeSantis said. “Do not go into floodwaters there could be dangerous debris, there could be downed power lines.”

Guthrie said the state is already seeing impacts from the storm and urged residents of northern Florida to stay in place while Central Florida residents still have some more time.

“We have been getting information from south of Tampa Bay all the way down to Fort Meyers and Naples that there is storm surge of about two feet and that they have had several inches of rain,” Guthrie said. “Do not get out on the roadways make sure that you’re staying in doors…if you’re in northeast Florida or north Central Florida you still have some time but those hours are starting to wane.”

DeSantis said he will have another press conference on Monday morning.

The Florida National Guard has around 3,000 service members readying for response efforts, the governor’s office had stated previously in an email.

In addition, 70 members of the Florida State Guard along with nine shallow water vessels, 10 UTVs and two amphibious rescue vehicles have been staged for deployment. Seven search and rescue crews are prepared to deploy from Camp Blanding. Also, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has readied high-water vehicles and all other storm response resources statewide.

Also on Sunday, the NHC began tracking a new system with a chance to form into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

As of the NHC’s 2 a.m. tropical outlook Monday, the tropical wave was located near the Caribbean’s Windward Islands with disorganized showers and thunderstorms.

“Environmental conditions appear generally favorable for some slow development over the next week while the system moves westward at around 20 mph over the Caribbean Sea,” forecasters said.

“Some slow development of this system is possible over the next week as the system moves quickly westward at around 20 mph, crossing the Windward Islands early this week and moving into the central and western Caribbean by the mid to latter part of this week,” forecasters said.

The NHC gives it a 10% chance to develop in the next two days and 30% in the next seven days.

If it were to form into a named storm, it could take on the name Tropical Storm Ernesto.

Tropical Storm Debby became the fourth official system of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. The others were Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris.

Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30, but the height of storm formation runs from mid-August into October.

In its 5 a.m. advisory Sunday, the NHC said the center of Debby was located 195 miles south-southwest of Tampa and 255 miles south-southwest of Cedar Key, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph as it moves north-northwest at 13 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 140 miles with gusts of near 50 mph recorded in Key West late Saturday and early Sunday.

The system has grown since becoming Tropical Depression Four late Friday and developing into a tropical storm on Saturday. It’s forecast to continue to intensify as it moves through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on its way to a landfall on Florida’s Big Bend south of Tallahassee.

“You could have serious intensification between now and landfall,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis during a press conference at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “It could get up to 85, 90, 95 mph sustained wind. That is absolutely possible, particularly in parts of the state like here in Tallahassee. There’s going to be a lot of trees that are going to fall down. You’re going to have debris. You are going to have power interruption so just prepare for that.”

He said the state Department of Emergency Management has identified 17,000 lineman to work on power outages.

“We have assets in place in advance of the storm like we always do, and near the predicted areas of most severe impact,” DeSantis said.

He warned people to not focus on just the center path of the system.

“This is a big storm. I mean, you’re gonna have rain that’s going to be far beyond the center of the storm,” he said. “So just prepare for that just because you’re not in the eye of the storm does not mean you are not going to have major, major impacts from the storm.”

Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said the slow-moving system could bring torrential rainfall to some areas.

“We’re going to be into a catastrophic rain situation where we have situations in Florida that will receive 15 maybe as high as 20 inches of rain,” Guthrie said.

He also warned about storm surge for coastal areas as some counties have issued mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders.

“You could be left with no time to take action if you haven’t already evacuated as instructed,” Guthrie said. “The time to do that is now.”

He also reminded Floridians to avoid floodwaters after the storm passes.

“It is never safe to be in floodwaters, and there can be many, many hidden hazards such as live electrical wires, displaced wild animals, chemicals and hazardous waste,” Guthrie said. “Simply put, floodwaters are unhealthy and unsafe to be in, so do not walk or drive into them.”

5 am EDT: Tropical Storm #Debby strengthening, expected to become a hurricane before it makes landfall in the Florida Big Bend Monday morning. Significant impacts expected across much of the southeast U.S. Here are the Key Messages. Visit https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb for details. pic.twitter.com/tA1LowuROo

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 4, 2024

A hurricane warning has been issued for the Florida Gulf Coast from the Suwannee River to the Ochlockonee with a hurricane watch running from west of the Ochlockonee River to Indian Pass near Apalachicola, and east of the Suwannee River down to Yankeetown south of Cedar Key.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Florida Keys west of the Seven Mile Bridge including the Dry Tortugas, and the west coast of Florida from East Cape Sable south of Naples north to the Suwannee River. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the Florida Keys north of the Seven Mile Bridge to the Channel 5 Bridge and on Florida’s Panhandle coast west of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach, as well as on the Georgia coast from mouth of the St. Mary’s River to Altamaha Sound.

A storm surge warning is in effect for Aripeka just north of Tampa up the Gulf Coast to Indian Pass and a storm surge watch from Bonita Beach north of Naples to Aripeka including Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, and in Georgia from the St. Mary’s River to Altamaha Sound.

Tropical storm likely to skirt Florida’s Gulf Coast but soak Orlando area

The system’s path is expected to make a northward turn Sunday and slower northeastern motion on Monday and Tuesday.

“On the forecast track, the center will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico through tonight and reach the Florida Big Bend coast Monday morning,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi. “Debby is then expected to move slowly across northern Florida and southern Georgia Monday and Tuesday.”

The latest advisory has Debby becoming a hurricane before it hits the Big Bend coast and weakening when it goes onshore.

Tropical Storm Debby slowly strengthens as it approaches Florida.

Debby is forecast to become a hurricane prior to landfall. pic.twitter.com/4zDcoqIuoZ

— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) August 4, 2024

The forecast cone had shifted further north and west since Friday, but its projected landfall south of Tallahassee has remained consistent among Saturday advisories into Sunday. It’s forecast to strike Monday morning with sustained winds of 85 mph, which would make it a Category 1 hurricane with gusts of 105 mph. Hurricane Idalia made landfall on the Big Bend in 2023 as a Category 3 hurricane.

“Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area and possible in the hurricane watch areas early Monday, with tropical storm conditions expected to arrive this evening,” Cangialosi said. “Tropical storm conditions are expected to spread northward over the tropical storm warning areas through tonight. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area in the Florida Keys during the next several hours, and in the Florida Panhandle on Monday.”

In addition, storm surge is forecast to be as high as 10 feet from the Suwannee River to the Aucilla River, 4-7 feet from Yankeetown to the Suwannee River, 4-6 feet from the Aucilla River to the Ochlockonee River, 3-5 feet from Aripeka to Yankeetown and from the Ochlockonee River to Indian Pass, and 2-4 feet Bonita Beach to Aripeka as well as Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor.

The NHC expects rainfall from 6 to 12 inches with some areas getting up to 18 inches across portions of Florida and the Southeast U.S. this weekend and through Thursday morning that could cause flash and urban flooding as well as some isolated river flooding.

“A few tornadoes are possible through Monday morning, mainly over western and northern Florida and southern Georgia,” the NHC advisory said.

The system has been building the last few days as a tropical wave that stretched hundreds of miles producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms moving across the northern Caribbean islands and southeastern Bahamas.

Gov. Ron DeSantis declared most counties under a state of emergency earlier this week. Floods could ensue if the system continued its current slow course or even stalled over the Florida peninsula.

He’s slated for a press conference at 7:30 a.m. from the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee with officials from the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Department of Transportation and Florida National Guard.

The Florida National Guard has around 3,000 service members readying for response efforts, the governor’s office had stated previously in an email.

In addition, 70 members of the Florida State Guard along with nine shallow water vessels, 10 UTVs and two amphibious rescue vehicles have been staged for deployment. Seven search and rescue crews are prepared to deploy from Camp Blanding. Also, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has readied high-water vehicles and all other storm response resources statewide.

For Central Florida, the National Weather Service in Melbourne forecasts 2-4 inches of rain in some areas with 4-6 inches north of Interstate 4 over the weekend and a tropical storm watch remained in effect Saturday for Lake County, although the forecast path of the system had shifted more west since Friday.

The threat of tornadoes has increased for the region on Sunday, forecasters said. One tornado warning was issued late Saturday in Broward County as bands from Debby moved over South Florida.

Tropical Storm Debby became the fourth official system of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. The others were Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris.

Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30, but the height of storm formation runs from mid-August into October.

As of the NHC’s 2 a.m. tropical outlook Friday, the well-defined tropical wave was producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms across Hispaniola, the southeastern Bahamas and eastern Cuba as well as the adjacent waters of the southwestern Atlantic.

“The wave is expected to move near or over Cuba throughout the day and then emerge over the Straits of Florida tonight or Saturday,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi. “Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for additional development after that time, and a tropicaldepression is likely to form this weekend over the Straits of Florida or eastern Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Peninsula.”

Tropical storm watches or warnings could be required for portions of Florida later today, he said.

The NHC gives it a 50% chance to develop in the next two days and 80% within the next seven.

How tropical system could impact Florida this weekend

The NHC’s potential path based on varying forecast models has shifted more to the west, although the entire Florida peninsula remains within the area that could be affected by the system.

“Regardless of development, heavy rains could cause areas of flash flooding across Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas through the weekend, and interests in these locations should continue to monitor the progress of this system,” Cangialosi said. “A NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate this system later today, if necessary.”

The tropical wave stretches over a long distance from the Caribbean Sea all the way north to the central Bahamas in the Atlantic. It’s moving west around 20 mph and the northern end has seen wave heights of 7 to 9 feet Thursday morning.

“The tropical wave and attendant winds, seas and weather will shift across the waters to the north of Hispaniola through Thursday. A trough will continue to move west-northwest across the Bahamas Thursday night through Friday night, then continue west- northwest Saturday and Sunday and impact portions of the Straits of Florida, South Florida and the southeast Gulf of Mexico,” said NHC tropical analysis lead forecaster Eric Christensen.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne said it’s uncertain what effects the system will have on Central Florida, but for now forecasts up to 2 inches of rain in some areas.

“This feature remains shrouded in mystery in terms of placement, track and strength. Latest model guidance does show a more westward formation/track that could take it up the eastern Gulf and possibly becoming a tropical depression sometime this weekend or early next week,”  said NWS Meteorologist Tim Sedlock. “Models will continue to have a problem with this feature until a low actually develops.”

Those totals increase farther south, according to NWS Miami, but the intensity of the wave and whether or not it gets circulation remains up in the air.

“Regardless of how and if this system develops, the main takeaway currently is that deep tropical moisture will continue to be pushing into the region throughout the weekend and into early next week.” said NWS Miami Meteorologist Chuck Caracozza. “This could result in the potential for above average rainfall during this time frame with the abundance of moisture in place.

The forecast calls for multiple rounds of heavy downpours over the same areas that could bring localized flooding.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has been quiet for the last three weeks as dry Saharan dust has stymied development over the ocean, although water temperatures remain above normal.

So far the season has seen three named storms including Hurricane Beryl that plowed through the Caribbean, Mexico and Texas in early July.

Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30, but the height of storm formation runs from mid-August into October.

Leaning into short three- and four-night Bahamas trips, each with a stop at the cruise line’s private Bahamas island Perfect Day at CocoCay, the line is combining its newest ship with its most popular port of call for what it dubs “The World’s Biggest Weekend.”

“You’re going to leave this ship with a couple of days, exhausted. That is our mission — all weekend,” Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley said during a preview cruise ahead of the ship’s debut Friday with paying customers.

The behemoth ship is the second largest in the world behind Icon of the Seas that debuted out of Miami in January, but it’s the largest ever to sail from Port Canaveral and the first time Royal has assigned a new ship short itinerary duties.

As such, the line has taken the 18-deck, 236,473-gross-ton ship with room for 5,668 guests based on double occupancy and crammed the days with shorter, punchier live shows and a cavalcade of parties and live music.

The sixth Oasis-class ship takes on all the best aspects of its recent predecessors including the three-slide water park The Perfect Storm, FlowRider surf simulator, rock climbing wall and the 10-deck twisting dry slide The Ultimate Abyss.

A sign of amping up things where it can, Royal added rollers and extended the length of the slide for an even faster run with stretches of tube that alternate from pitch black to psychedelic flashing lights to translucent for a brain-thumping ride.

The high energy also flows into all three of its main entertainment venues which lean into song, dance and acrobatic spectacle married with technology for quick-hit performances that run under an hour. That means leaving behind the longer-running Broadway or other original stage productions found on Royal’s longer cruises.

“I don’t think we could sit in a theater for 90 minutes here,” said Christi Coachman, Royal Caribbean’s vice president of entertainment. “Because obviously that’s that’s our key timeframe, 90 minutes, with all of the other things that we want to experience.”

That said, the Royal Theater hosts a show called “All In” that takes all the technological toys Royal has developed over its last decade of stage productions and combines them into a journey thematically tied as global musical hotspots, running from Studio 54 in New York to a neon-lit Miami to Burning Man in California and a gothic masquerade ball in Venice — all dipping musical toes across different eras.

“In the theater, it was all about hit ’em hard, all about technology. We have drones, we have performers flying, we have incredible video projection, lasers,” Coachman said, while also using a technology that tracks performers’ positions through sensors that trigger interactive video or laser projection.

Unique to Royal Caribbean are both the ice skating show venue and the AquaTheater that combines divers, synchronized swimmers, slackliners, aerialists and dancing amid jets and fountains of water.

For Utopia, the AquaTheater show embraces Gen-X with a show titled “Aqua80Too” that leans into 80s hits with one seamlessly mashing up Phil Collins’ “Sussudio,” Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” and Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” One number with slackliners gleefully bounce to the beat of a medley from the Beastie Boys, David Bowie, Kool & The Gang, Sugar Hill Gang and Young MC. A more poetic aerobatic performance beautifully mixes U2’s “With Or Without You,” Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s “Don’t Give Up” and Thomson Twins’ “Hold Me Now.”

Children of the 80s will approve.

The hardest show conceptually to get one’s head around may be one of the most impressive artistically. The ice show titled “Youtopia” features skaters in a series of quick-change outfits with impressive choreography under an intense projection system that interacts with the skaters zipping around the small rink performing jumps, spins and turns.

“This is my definition. When you think about Utopia, what is the definition of Utopia? It’s perfect place. It’s ideal perfection, and what does that mean to you?” Coachman asked. “So why is it ‘Youtopia’ — Y-O-Utopia? So is that the perfect car, the perfect house, the perfect love? And candy, because that’s perfect, because there’s a whole section on candy. So it’s really kind of what Utopia perfection means to you.”

The shows, though, almost play second fiddle to the arsenal of musical options on board.

“We’ve noticed guests on three- or four-day cruises, many times, as incredible as the shows are, they much rather gravitate toward loud music … They’re here to have fun,” said Allison Rider-Davidoiu, director of headliner entertainment, live music and enrichment.

The ship has 29 of more than 200 entertainment staff dedicated to music.

“The energy is definitely, you know, we amp it up,” Rider-Davidoiu said. “So it’s one of our entertainers, still incredibly talented, but maybe a bit more upbeat than what you would experience in a 14-day cruise or a seven-day cruise.”

She said there are still moments of more chill music across the ship, such as the French violin and guitar duo Enchanté that migrates to more calm venues such as the greenery found in Central Park.

“There’s a lot of parties. There’s a lot going on. Everything’s super loud everywhere, but sometimes you need that alternative,” she said.

She’s not wrong about the parties. The ship now employs staff called party influencers that can be found among the sundry celebrations such as the Rezolution Dance Party held in the ice skating rink venue so the projection system casts onto those on the dance floor.

There’s also a fraternity-themed party called Royal Kappa-Chi, a silent toga party, poolside plunge party and the sail-away party.

“Utopia is a taste, right, of what possibly you could experience on maybe a longer itinerary,” Coachman said. “It was really important not only to continue to create the family experiences, because that’s very important for our brand, but also to go in a little bit of a different direction and have one party after the other to where you don’t ever stop.”

So amid the parties, live music, comedy shows, game shows and performances are all the other things that Royal Caribbean can shoehorn in into the world’s second largest cruise ship.

That includes more than 40 places to eat and drink including what has already become a crowd-inducing new bar concept called the Pesky Parrot on the Promenade deck. It’s what Royal calls a Caribbean-inspired Tiki concept.

Bayley enjoyed telling the story of the Pesky Parrot’s origins.

“Somebody came up with the idea of, well, why don’t we have like a drunken parrot,” he said. “And so the pesky parrot really is this parrot, you know, is getting on in life, likes a few drinks, and as the day progresses, the parrot kind of becomes a little belligerent, rude. … You come on vacation, it doesn’t need to be serious. It’s just meant to be stupid. Some things can just be plain stupid. And you know, you go in a bar and this parrot just starts mouthing off at you.”

The line is bringing a live parrot named Brian on board for the first revenue sailing.

New cruise line dining experiences make you forget you’re on a cruise

Another venue unique to the ship is a themed dining concept called “Royal Railway — Utopia Station.” It builds off the thematic Empire Supper Club introduced on Icon of the Seas, but adds theme park-esque elements to mimic a train trip complete with digital screen projections of passing landscapes, piped in track sounds and vibrating seats.

The first railway trip is themed to the Wild West and has actors playing out a train heist during a 90-minute dinner. Future sailings will tackle other themes, such as the Asian Silk Road, along with shorter offerings tied to things such as wine tastings and holidays.

Bayley said he expects the line to do well offering this size ship in the Central Florida market.

“One of the reasons we put this brand new Oasis class into this market is that we really expect to see a certain amount of demand coming from tourists who are going in for … some kind of combo. They’re doing Disney or Universal or doing something in Orlando, and then they can tag on,” he said. “What kids wouldn’t be happy with that idea. … I wish I was a kid. That’s pretty good.”

The NHC said the center of Beryl made landfall just northeast of Tulum, Mexico at 6:05 a.m. with 110 mph sustained winds.

As of 8 p.m. it was located at Progreso, Mexico and 580 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas with sustained winds down to 65 mph dropping below hurricane status moving west-northwest at 15 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 105 miles.

A hurricane watch and storm surge watch has been issued for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande River north to Sargent, Texas, and the northeastern coast of Mainland Mexico from Barr el Mezquital to the Rio Grande. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico west of Cabo Catoche to Campeche.

Hurricane Beryl charges across the Caribbean sea, hitting the Cayman Islands before making landfall on the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico. pic.twitter.com/Nd4Jwo6UcH

— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) July 5, 2024

“Continued weakening is expected during the next few hours as Beryl crosses the Yucatan Peninsula,” forecasters said.  “Re-intensification is expected once the center moves back over the Gulf of Mexico, and Beryl is forecast to regain hurricane status on Sunday.”

Its five-day path has its center targeting north of Brownsville and South Padre Island by early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph sustained winds and 105 mph gusts.

“(It could be) potentially be an intensifying hurricane as it moves closer to the coast of Texas,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan noting it’s expected to make a northward turn before landfall. “Just a small change in the track of the storm can mean a big difference in where the center of Beryl makes landfall.”

He said there’s a broad risk all the way up to the central Texas coast with “multiple life-threatening hazards, the hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge, heavy rainfall and flooding.”

Tropical-storm-force winds will begin Sunday evening.

The Gulf Coast of Texas already suffered storm surge damage from the season’s first named storm, Tropical Storm Alberto, in June while mainland Mexico this week also saw rain from Tropical Storm Chris.

In Corpus Christi, Texas, where officials are bracing for the chance Beryl could turn northward and bring with it possible coastal flooding, strong winds and dangerous rip currents, the city announced it had distributed 10,000 sand bags in less than two hours on Friday, exhausting its supply. The city had already distributed 14,000 sand bags Wednesday.

Storm surge from Beryl is forecast to be from 3-5 feet from Baffin Bay to Sargent, Texas as well as Corpus Christi Bay and Matagorda Bay, and 2-4 feet from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Baffin Bay.

Beryl is forecast to drop 4 to 6 inches with some areas of the Yucatan getting up to 10 inches Friday, and from 5 to 10 inches with some areas getting as much as 15 inches of rain across portions of the Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas beginning late Sunday through the middle of next week. The could produce flash and urban flooding.by Sunday.

#Beryl made landfall this morning and will reach the Gulf of Mexico tonight. As it moves over water, the risk for rip currents along Gulf Coast beaches will increase, even far away from the forecast track. Go to https://t.co/JttG4XipJ4 for more information in your area. pic.twitter.com/0U7vO2sX93

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 5, 2024

Swells from the storm are forecast to spread to the U.S. Gulf Coast by late Friday that could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. There’s already a moderate risk of rip currents along Florida’s Panhandle, where three people died in June in the wake of Tropical Storm Alberto’s kicked-up coastal dangers.

Beryl died down from its record-setting intensity this week when it grew to Category 5 hurricane with 165 mph sustained winds, the earliest on record to form, after it tore through the Windward Islands leaving behind a trail of destruction and at least 11 deaths.

Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadine, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.

Mexican authorities had moved some tourists and residents out of low-lying areas around the Yucatan peninsula before landfall, but tens of thousands remained to tough out the strong winds and expected storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few yards above sea level.

The city was plunged into darkness when the storm knocked out power as it came ashore. Screeching winds set off car alarms across the town. Wind and rain continued to whip the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning.

No deaths or wounded had been reported, but 40% of Tulum continued to be without electricity, said Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of Mexican Civil Protection.

“Don’t go out yet. Wait until the hurricane completely passes,” said Velázquez, speaking on a video in a morning press briefing.

Once a sleepy, laid-back village, in recent years Tulum has boomed with unrestrained development and now has about 50,000 permanent inhabitants and at least as many tourists on an average day. The resort now has its own international airport.

Damage tolls from Beryl’s earlier Caribbean victims continue to climb.

Michelle Forbes, the St. Vincent and Grenadines director of the National Emergency Management Organization, said that about 95% of homes in Mayreau and Union Island have been damaged by Hurricane Beryl.

The hurricane jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and ripped off roofs and knocked out electricity in Jamaica.

On Union Island, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a man who identified himself as Captain Baga described the storm’s impact, including how he had filled two 2,000-gallon rubber water tanks in preparation.

“I strapped them down securely on six sides; and I watched the wind lift those tanks and take them away — filled with water,” he said Thursday. “I’m a sailor and I never believed wind could do what I saw it do. If anyone (had) ever told me wind could do that, I would have told them they lie!”

The island was littered with debris from homes that looked like they had exploded.

Tropical Storm Alberto did not form until June 19 after a slow start to the season. The height of hurricane season, though, runs from mid-August into October.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast an above average year in the Atlantic with 17 to 25 named storms, of which eight to 13 are expected to become hurricanes, and four to seven of those be major hurricanes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

That includes Disney Treasure, set to debut this winter, and 2022’s Disney Wishas well as older ships Disney Magic and Disney Fantasy trading off sailing duties.

The new homeport and sailing plans for Disney Destiny, a sister ship to Wish and Treasure, was not announced, but it’s slated to be delivered to the line at a yet-to-be-revealed date in 2025 and could end up DCL’s new second Florida home in Port Everglades.

Also debuting in 2025 will be the Asia-bound Disney Adventure, but for now, DCL only revealed sailing plans for its two original ships, Magic and Wonder, its two decade-plus-old ships Dream and Fantasy and its two most recent ships Wish and Treasure.

Port Canaveral will continue to host Wish sailing short three- and four-night Bahamas trips while Treasure will continue with seven-night Caribbean sailings.

Disney Magic, which arrives to the port in summer 2025, will remain through October and then be replaced with Disney Fantasy in November doing a four- and five-night set of itineraries through May 2026.

Wish, Magic and Fantasy all have some trips that visit Disney’s newest private Bahamas destination Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point that welcomed first guests this month. Some sailings visit both Lookout Cay and the line’s original Bahamas private island Castaway Cay.

Many of the September and October sailings will take on the popular Halloween on the High Seas theming while November and December sailings will have the Very Merrytime holiday theme.

Disney Dream will keep sailing from its new year-round home in Port Everglades, which opened for business last fall. It will tackle three- to five-night Bahamas trips visiting either Lookout Cay, Castaway Cay or both, as well as some stops in Nassau through May 2026.

After a summer of Alaska sailings, Disney Wonder will continue its late 2025 duties in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, not returning to the West Coast homeporting in San Diego beginning in March 2026 for three- and four-night Mexican Riviera sailings. This will be the third season Disney Wonder has sailed from Australia.

Bookings for the new itineraries open to the public June 28, with earlier dates available for the line’s variety of club-level members, but details can already be found on disneycruise.com.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the NHC was tracking Potential Tropical Cyclone One in the western Gulf of Mexico located about 355 miles east-southeast of La Pesca, Mexico and 405 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas with 40 mph sustained winds moving north at 7 mph.

“Some increase in strength is likely during the next 36 hours, and the disturbance is forecast to become a tropical storm by Wednesday,” NHC forecasters said.

11AM EDT June 18: Potential Tropical Cyclone #One is a very large disturbance with heavy rainfall, coastal flooding, and wind impacts likely to occur far from the center along the coasts of Texas and northeastern Mexico. For more information visit: https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ pic.twitter.com/yGvAwGzYly

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) June 18, 2024

If it does, it would become the season’s first named storm, but for now, forecasters give it an 80% chance for formation in the next two days. Its tropical-storm-force winds, though, already extend out across a swath 415 miles north of its center.

Rainfall from 5-10 inches and some areas with as much as 15 inches are forecast to fall across northeast Mexico and into South Texas that could produce flash floods, urban flooding, river flooding and mudslides.

Tropical storm warnings are in place for the Texas coast from Port O’Connor south to the mouth of the Rio Grande River, and continuing south in Mexico on its northeastern coast to Puerto de Altamira. The NHC also said South Texas could see some tornadoes form on Wednesday.

6/18 4 AM CDT: Moderate coastal flooding from Potential Tropical Cyclone #One is likely along much of the Texas coast beginning this morning and continuing through midweek. Please check https://t.co/0BMJEzOTx0 for updates. pic.twitter.com/XJBCiJiVUs

— NHC Storm Surge (@NHC_Surge) June 18, 2024

Storm surge of 2-4 feet is forecast for Sargent to Sabine Pass, Texas as well as Galveston Bay and from 1-3 feet from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Sargent and from Sabine Pass north to the Vermilion-Cameron Parish Line in Louisiana.

The NHC is also tracking two more systems with the potential to grow into a tropical depression or storm.

Of most concern to Florida is an area of showers located several hundred miles east of the Bahamas associated with a surface trough and upper-level area of low pressure.

“Environmental conditions could be conducive for some gradual development of this system during the next few days while it moves westward or west-northwestward,” forecasters said. “The system is forecast to approach the coast of the southeastern United States on Friday.”

The National Weather Service in Melbourne expects the system to bring at least some rain to the state as the system approaches.

“Models continue to be in some disagreement with timing and placement of (the systems),” according to the NWS long-term forecast. “Howevermost models do agree that an increase in moisture across Florida will occur.”

The NHC gives it a 10% chance to develop in the next two days and 20% within the next seven days.

The NHC also began assessing a broad area of low pressure that is forecast to form over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico this weekend.

“Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for gradual development of this system early next week while it moves slowly northward or northwestward,” the NHC said.

It’s roughly the same area that Potential Tropical Cyclone One’s system developed over the Bay of Campeche.

The NHC gives is a 20% chance to form in the next seven days.

A recent trend, though, has seen cruise lines investing in designs meant to transport the diner away from the vessel.

One of the newest ventures is sticking them on a train. Royal Railway – Utopia Station is a featured restaurant coming on board Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas when it debuts this summer in Port Canaveral.

Cruisers will climb aboard a simulated train to experience what traveling on a dining car is like, complete with passing different countryside scenes projected on digital screens.

The first sailings will be limited to an adventure themed to the America’s Wild West for a 90-minute trip that mimics the sights, sounds and feel of a moving train car. Other themes in the works are based on the Silk Route trains that traveled through Asia and 30-minute offerings.

Diners start with pre-dinner drinks on a station platform, and when the train whistle sounds, board the dining car where a cast of performers play out an interactive storyline involving outlaws attempting a train robbery. Royal Caribbean put on a sample version of the experience at its Miami headquarters on Thursday.

The menu leans into ingredients from New Mexico and California. Hard drinks are thematic to the Old West (think pisco sour) as is the soft drink of sarsaparilla served in a flask. Entrees include river trout, braised short ribs and quail-esque roasted poussin. Appetizers include corn chowder, an empanada trio and “Fart & Dart Baked Beans.”

A little juvenile humor does make its way into the performance, as do some dad jokes and over-the-kids-heads jokes.

“It’s like a caricature. It’s good old-fashioned fun,” said Royal Caribbean President Michael Bayley, but he said the performances and approach may depend on when cruisers are seated.

“In the afternoon into the early evening, it will be more kid-immersive. As you move later on into the evening, it will be more sophisticated,” he said.

The main draw to the experience are the continuous digital screen projections that include frontier towns and desert and mountain landscapes that could be right out of an Albert Bierstadt painting.

The final product resolution will be in 4K, but even the test run’s digital renderings were impressive, minus the few hiccups like a horse floating over the cliff.

Royal Caribbean’s chief product innovation officer Jay Schneider said relying on computer-generated video proved to be the better choice over real landscape videos,  although teams did visit actual railways in the West for inspiration.

“Now we can flip a switch and make this winter and make this nighttime,” he said. “That definitely kind of unlocked a lot of possibilities.”

There’s also the $200, three-hour-plus dining experience at the 38-seat venue Empire Supper Club that debuted on the world’s largest cruise ship Icon of the Seas that began sailing from Miami in January.

It transports diners to the roaring ’20s of New York City amid an eight-course meal with each course paired with a unique cocktail.

Diners enjoy music from the American Standards Trio with a vocalist, piano and stand-up bass.

The details such as the rotary phones in the lobby and the uniformed waiters and hostess wearing a sultry dinner gown add to the ambience. The menu delves into some not-so-common options such as oysters Rockefeller and a leg and loin duo of rabbit. More traditional fare is offered, too, including steak, seabass and Caesar salad.

The cocktail pairing approach means no wine, and that’s OK for the venue, said Linken D’Souza, vice president of food and beverage for Royal Caribbean International.

“We went through many iterations of the cocktails to make sure that they’re well balanced. … They paired exceptionally well with the food,” he said. “So that’s not E for everyone. And that’s OK. It’s just a unique niche experience that we want people to really be adventurous.”

Royal isn’t the first to venture down the thematic dining road, which has in some ways been dabbled with over the years, including dinner theater in-the-round venues on some Norwegian Cruise Line ships such as the short-lived magic-themed Illusionarium on Norwegian Getaway and the celebration of 1980s teen films from John Hughes on Norwegian Escape.

And Disney Cruise Line’s rotational dining has always served up a variety of thematic overlays. Its newest ships, though, have taken it to the next level.

That includes the Worlds of Marvel dining venue on both its latest ship Disney Wish, and its upcoming Disney Treasure debuting this December, both sailing out of Port Canaveral. Disney Wish also debuted Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure, a vast food hall that expanded on similar approaches to dining themed to “Tangled” and “Princess & the Frog” on older ships Disney Magic and Wonder.

For Disney Treasure, the line is shelving “Frozen” in favor of the Disney-Pixar film “Coco.” The new overlay will feature a five-course meal with a modern take on traditional Mexican fare.

It will feature live performers telling the story of Miguel and his familia being offered up with different-themed seatings per voyage, as it’s tied to a seven-night sailing. The first night takes diners to Mariachi Plaza with Miguel’s parents Enrique and Luisa as well as Abuelita Elena. The second night takes diners to the town square in Santa Cecilia through where Miguel and his ancestors including great-great grandparents Hector and Mama Imelda celebrate Día de los Muertos.

“The adventure takes you through [those] heartstrings, and pulls you back into family, right?” said Carlos Jimenez, a managing producer with Disney Cruise Line Entertainment. “Doesn’t matter if you’re coming from the Mexican culture or any other culture. Family’s at the center – la familia es todo. So family is everything and we want to make sure we’re telling that beautiful story.”

Princess Cruises also debuted a suite-level guest offering called “360: An Extraordinary Experience” on board Enchanted Princess and Discovery Princess.

The line carved out a small rotunda venue with two half-circle long tables facing one another for 20 diners to serve up a seven-course meal that hits all the senses over an hour and a half.

Diners begin seated within a dark room surrounded by digital screen snapshots of Mediterranean destinations about the circular enclosed walls, What follows is a combination of storytelling of a culinary adventure from Greece to Italy to Spain and into France with an assist from actress Brooke Shields leading the way.

It’s a narrative device to get the real stories told, the source of the various culinary delights presented with white-glove service from course to course, whether it’s the Spanish divers who take the red varietal Grenache and age it underwater or the French lavender farmer who explains where the distinct honey flavor comes from.

Along the way, and intense and detailed projection about the room and onto the dinner service plates invites diners to interact with their meal settings before the actual food is presented, such as virtually smashing some Greek plateware or digging up their own Spanish truffle.

The scents of the food while dining could suffice, but an effusive olfactory accompaniment hits here and there such as the lemon aroma ahead of the tasty Italian dish pasta al limone while its recipe is projected upon the screen.

“What happens here in 360 is you can be anywhere in the world and we’re going to transport you into the Mediterranean,” said Princess Cruises President John Padgett during the experience’s debut event. “We have immersive video, storytelling, food and wine that intersects with the story.”

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams were back for a third time in a month once again taking a ride out to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 to climb on board the spacecraft sitting atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that lifted off amid mostly clear skies at 10:52 a.m. to take the pair to the International Space Station.

“Let’s get going,” said Wilmore minutes before launch. “Let’s put some fire in this rocket and let’s push it to the heavens where all these tough Americans have prepared it to be.”

Let’s relive liftoff of #AtlasV carrying #Starliner #CFT for @NASA and @BoeingSpace! pic.twitter.com/MxlAZE45aK

— ULA (@ulalaunch) June 5, 2024

The pair are flying the Crew Flight Test mission, a followup to two uncrewed test flights of Starliner, the first of which came in 2019. That mission was a partial failure as it was not able to rendezvous with the ISS forcing a 2 1/2-year delay to Boeing’s program to remedy hardware, software and management issues. The second uncrewed test flight in 2022 made it to the ISS, but post-launch review and preparation for the CFT brought further delays with more hardware issues popping up.

But half a decade later, Williams and Wilmore were set to fly, entering quarantine on April 22. Finally, on May 6, they tried for the first time to take off from the Space Coast, but an issue with a fluttering valve on ULA’s upper Centaur stage scrubbed that attempt with about two hours to go on the countdown clock. Then a second attempt this past Saturday was scrubbed within four minutes of launch because of ULA computers not synching at the launch pad.

“I am very impressed with my colleagues for being such optimists and such professionals.” said NASA astronaut for future Starliner crew member Mike Fincke during NASA’s live commentary leading up to launch. “They’ve been in quarantine for a long time. You know we’ve been waiting for over five years to get Starliner launched, but they are very, very excited about today. You can see that they’re focused on getting the job done and they are very ready for this mission.”

In the end, the third attempt went smoothly.

“Everything was fine. No hiccups, no drama and nothing to worry about,” Fincke said. “So I was really happy for Butch and Suni and happy with the whole team. … Now we just got to get to space station.”

The duo began suiting up before 6 a.m. at KSC’s Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building venturing out after 7:30 a.m. to climb aboard the updated Starliner-themed Airstream Astrovan for the ride over to neighboring Cape Canaveral and make their way back on board the Starliner spacecraft.

Before driving over, they played a traditional prelaunch game with chief of the astronaut office, Joe Acaba, not leaving until they had lost to Acaba — this time in a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The idea is that losing that game is the worst thing that happens on a launch day.

“Speaking as a child of the 70s, a lot of us watched “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” and Mr. Rogers would tell us to take our time to do it right, and that’s what we’re doing here,” Fincke said.

Just before 9 a.m., teams waited the conclusion of a weather brief before moving forward with hatch closure, but were given the go for hatch closure with less than two hours to go before launch.

“We are ready. We’re smiling out here, see you in a couple weeks,” said Wilmore.

Pictures: Launch day for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on Crew Flight Test

The astronauts will spend just over 25 hours making their way to the ISS set to dock Thursday at 12:15 p.m., where they will spend about eight days on board before returning to Earth for a landing in one of five locations in the desert in the southwestern United States.

If successful, this will be the final required mission for Boeing under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to achieve certification and set up regular rotational missions to the ISS, sharing duties with SpaceX.

“We need that access,” said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free. “So right now we have we have one provider giving us that access to the space station. This will give us a second provider, which means if we have a problem with either, we have ways to get our crews to and from station, which helps keep the tempo that we’ve had for 23 years of having humans in low-Earth orbit, but also that opportunity to get the crews back if there’s an issue at all and keep that presence going.”

Wilmore and Williams will spend time on both the way up and down from the ISS testing out manual control overrides among other facets of the mostly automated spacecraft.

“There’s a thought of how things should be, but then there’s the reality how things need to be,” said Wilmore ahead of the launch attempt. “That’s what this test is all — everything we do is test. It’s been a process over the years that is such a benefit in all aspects of the capabilities of this spacecraft, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

The pair are former Navy test pilots and veterans of two spaceflight each, with both having traveled on board Russia Soyuz capsules as well as the space shuttle. Wilmore is commander and joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2000 while Williams joined in 1998.

Williams was given the honor to name the capsule after it landed, and dubbed it Calypso, in deference to oceanographer Jacques Cousteau’sfamed vessel. The zero-gravity indicator for the mission follows the maritime theme, a stuffed narwhal that is also named Calypso.

The flight comes just over four years since SpaceX made its first crewed flight to the ISS with its Crew Dragon spacecraft, which has since flown 13 times carrying 50 humans to space. That includes the four members of Crew-8 awaiting along with the rest of the seven-person crew of Expedition 71 aboard the ISS.

Starliner is only the sixth ever U.S.-based spacecraft to fly with NASA astronauts following Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the space shuttleand SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Williams is the first woman to fly on an orbital test flight among NASA’s spacecraft.

Starliner will also become the first U.S.-based capsule to make a land touchdown as Crew Dragon, Apollo, Gemini and Mercury all made waterlandings, as will the Artemis program’s Orion capsule that has yet to fly with humans. Russia’s Soyuz, though, features land touchdowns.

It also marked a return of human launches from Cape Canaveral’s launch pads, which last saw a crewed flight in 1968 with the launch of Apollo7. Every Apollo mission afterward as well as the space shuttle and Crew Dragon launches have come from nearby Kennedy Space Center.

It’s the first time an Atlas V has flown with humans as well, although earlier iterations of the Atlas rocket flew several human spaceflights in the early 1960s including John Glenn’s historic trip to space as the first American to each orbit in 1962.

This also marked the 100th launch of an Atlas V rocket, and Wilmore had a special message for ULA after launch.

“They’ve been a member of the family for a long time, but now it’s official, and we want to welcome them to human spaceflight,” he said.