Teams with NASA, Boeing and ULA achieved a milestone in Commercial Crew space travel early Tuesday morning.
The Boeing Starliner was lifted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in preparation for launch next month.
Starliner will become part of the NASA Commercial Crew program to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
The Atlas V booster is built at the ULA factory in Decatur.
Starliner made an uncrewed autonomous flight to the ISS in May of 2022. This will be the spacecraft's first crewed flight. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will be at the controls when it lifts off, currently scheduled for the evening of May 6.