Boeing Starliner launches 2 NASA astronauts into space in first piloted test flight

The third time proved to be the charm for NASA and Boeing, which successfully launched two astronauts into space Wednesday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Liftoff, which was scheduled for 10:52 a.m., occurred without a hitch. It is Boeing's first piloted test flight. 

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and Boeing Starliner carrying astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams is heading for the International Space Station (ISS). The Starliner is expected to arrive at the space station after a flight of about 24 hours and dock with the orbiting research outpost some 250 miles above Earth.

"Suni and I, as we were traveling to the pad, we saw many American flags and many of you were waving flags at us," Wilmore said less than six minutes before the rocket launched. "And then as we reached the pad, we looked up and of course there's an American flag on the side of the white room, also one on the side of the rocket itself. We know that that represents unity and resilience and unified efforts for the common good. That's what Suni and I have witnessed this last month."