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We've wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more about the Starliner mission here.
Here's what to expect during Thursday's docking
From CNN's Ashley Strickland
Eager to continue following Starliner's journey? NASA will resume live coverage Thursday at 9:30 a.m. ET on the agency's website.
Williams and Wilmore are expected to dock with the International Space Station at 12:15 p.m. ET tomorrow.
The hatch between Starliner and the station is expected to be opened at 2 p.m., and the astronaut duo will be welcomed by the seven crew members already aboard the station at 2:20 p.m. ET.
And NASA officials will share the latest details about Starliner's historic mission at 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday.
Will Starliner be used for tourism?
From CNN's Jackie Wattles
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft was designed under the same NASA program as SpaceX's Crew Dragon — which has already carried 13 missions to orbit for NASA astronauts as well as paying customers.
That's allowed under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which from the outset intended for SpaceX and Boeing to own and operate their spacecraft. The space agency buys flights for its astronauts, and the companies are allowed to sell seats if they want.
SpaceX has taken full advantage of that: It has flown tourists and foreign astronauts to the space station in a partnership with Houston-based company Axiom. SpaceX has also flown a mission for finance billionaire Jared Isaacman called Inspiration 4 — and more are on the schedule.
But Boeing, which has suffered lengthy delays and costly setbacks during Starliner's development, has been less certain of whether Starliner will be used for joy rides.
"Right now we're focused on the six missions that we have on contract with NASA," said Mark Nappi, vice president and Starliner program manager at Boeing, during a news briefing prior to the May 6 launch attempt. "The private astronaut missions are of interest later in the decade — but right now, the focus is on getting certified."
A snippet from a Starliner overview packet posted to Boeing's website, however, is a bit more assertive:
"We are selling the extra fifth seat on NASA missions," the document reads. "Potential customers include commercial and government-sponsored astronauts and even private citizens flying as tourists. Starliner is also planned to be used for crew transportation to Blue Origin’s upcoming Orbital Reef commercial space station."
NASA officials know a thing or two about scrubbed missions
From CNN's Ashley Strickland
Both NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate,are former astronauts, so they know what it's like to make the thrilling journey to space and back — and the long wait to lift off when things don't go as planned, like the two scrubs Williams and Wilmore faced ahead of today's successful launch.
Nelson and Bowersox sat next to each other during the news conference.
"The administrator actually has the record because he did it first," Bowersox said, gesturing to Nelson. "They scrubbed six times on his launch. And on one of my launches, we scrubbed six times."
Selected as an astronaut in 1987, Bowersox flew five times on the space shuttle and once on a Roscosmos Soyuz, logging more than 211 days in space.
Bowersox said Williams and Wilmore probably spent longer than he did in crew quarantine because of the distance between their scrubbed launches.
"But what I found with each one of my scrubs was we were a little more relaxed, a little more prepared and and we got a little more rested and we were really good at strapping in by the time we got a few under our belt," Bowersox said.
Nelson trained and flew with the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986.
"At least the weather was not a concern for the three times on Starliner," Nelson said."The weather certainly played a big part with regard to some of our scrubs. So, yeah, it gets old hat when you strap in, and it's just another day at the ranch."
Starliner crew will land on dry land rather than splash down. Here's why
From CNN's Jackie Wattles & Ashley Strickland
Today's launch was a monumental moment for the two astronauts heading for space.
But what goes up must come down.
After Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spend eight days aboard the International Space Station, they'll come home in their Starliner capsule.
The earliest possible landing date is June 14, but the astronauts may stay longer on the station because there is nothing "magical" about that return date, NASA officials said Wednesday.
"We've got a prescribed landing date that goes along with this launch date, but I just want to emphasize that nobody should get too excited about that date," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
"We have to have a lot of conditions that are just right before we bring the Starliner home and we're going to wait till the conditions are right and we've accomplished the test objectives before we do that."
And the vehicle will make its return to Earth unlike any US spacecraft before it.
Rather than splashing down in the ocean, as SpaceX's Crew Dragon and other capsules dating back to NASA's Mercury Program have done, Starliner is going to hit terra firma.
There are five possible landing sites, generally across the southwestern US: Two in New Mexico, one in Utah, another in Arizona and, finally, one in California.
Why land on land rather than splash down?
Seawater is rough on spacecraft. The salt can corrode components. And then, there's the sheer hassle of getting ships out to sea to rescue the crew.
"Boeing opted for a design that will touch down on land rather than splashing into the ocean in order to ease parts of the recovery process," according to the company.
NASA official: The space station's urine pump change will happen soon
From CNN's Ashley Strickland
Starliner is carrying a crucial replacement pump that helps convert urine on the space station into drinkable water.
The pump failed last week, and since then, urine has been stored in bags on the space station while the crew awaits the replacement pump.
"On the pump change, we're gonna get to that as soon as we can," said Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. "My hope is we get to it this week. If not, it'll be early next week."
Today's launch means a lot to Boeing, official with commercial crew program says
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
The launch means a lot to Boeing, said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, for Boeing's Commercial Crew Program.
"My boss was here today. My boss's boss was here today and my boss's boss's boss is here today. So obviously, it means a ton to us," Nappi added.
He said that the launch was the first step in the program's mission, and there are many more phases.
Nappi added that for the rest of the year, Boeing is focused on getting certified for the Starliner 1 mission.
Boeing official: "We don't see it as a competition" with SpaceX
From CNN's Ashley Strickland
When asked about the relationship between Boeing and SpaceX, long viewed as a rivalry, Mark Nappi, the vice president and program manager of the Commercial Crew Program for Boeing, said he believes others see it as a competition.
"We don't see it as a competition," Nappi said. "We've got two providers that are going up to the International Space Station and SpaceX is up there, and we're up there now as well. So, this is something that NASA has planned and we've accomplished it."
Nappi saw Musk's congratulatory post on X about the flight.
"I saw that tweet," Napp said. "That's awesome. And you know, I sit on my front porch and I watch every SpaceX mission. And I root for them, too. This is something that's great for the entire country."
Here's what happens next for the Starliner crew
From CNN's Ashley Strickland
NASA officials shared that astronauts Williams and Wilmore may enjoy a slightly extended stay aboard the International Space Station once they arrive. The earliest possible landing date is June 14.
"We've got a prescribed landing date that goes along with this launch date, but I just want to emphasize that nobody should get too excited about that date," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
"We have to have a lot of conditions that are just right before we bring the Starliner home and we're going to wait till the conditions are right and we've accomplished the test objectives before we do that."
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, added that the only issue mission teams are assessing is a system called a sublimator on Starliner, which provides cooling during the launch and landing phase.
"What that does is it creates a block of ice essentially," he said. "And then as heat is passed into that icebox, a little thin layer of that ice turns into a vapor and that rejects heat away. We used a little bit more water than we expected."
The team will assess data of the sublimator to learn more about how the system is functioning for future purposes.
