boeing company NASA launched its first Starliner flight with astronauts on Wednesday, kicking off a critical final flight test of the long-delayed spacecraft.
The launch took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 10:52 a.m. ET with two NASA astronauts on board. Starliner is carried on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station.
More than 10 minutes into the flight, the rocket and capsule were operating as expected as the vehicle ascended into orbit, according to mission control’s flight director.
Boeing’s manned flight test aims to prove that the Starliner system can carry NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket was launched from the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 5, 2024, carrying two astronauts on board the Boeing Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission.
Steve Natius | Reuters
After launch, Starliner will fly in space for about 25 hours before docking with the International Space Station at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. The astronauts will then spend about a week aboard the International Space Station, focusing on testing Starliner, before returning to Earth.
Wednesday’s liftoff follows a series of launch mission attempts. On Saturday, the launch attempt was canceled in the final minutes of the countdown due to problems with a computer providing ground support for the rocket. In early May, another attempt was canceled due to problems with the rocket itself.
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United Launch Alliance – or ULA, is a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin – A faulty valve in the rocket was replaced after the May attempt, and a faulty part in the ground infrastructure computer was replaced after Saturday’s attempt.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft landed at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 3, 2024.
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo | Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo AFP | Getty Images
astronaut
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore (right) and Suni Williams wait for liftoff in the Boeing Starliner capsule at Space Launch Complex 41 on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA (AP)
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew on Starliner, the former as the spacecraft’s commander and the latter as the pilot.
Wilmore joined NASA in 2000 and had previously flown into space twice aboard the Space Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz. Before NASA, Wilmore was a U.S. Navy pilot.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore (left) and Suny Williams.
Image credit: Kim Shiflett | NASA
Williams, who was selected by NASA in 1998, has flown into space twice before, first on the Space Shuttle and then on the Soyuz. Before joining the space agency, Williams, like Wilmore, was a naval aviator.
rockets and space capsules
On Thursday, May 30, 2024, a Boeing Starliner spacecraft carrying a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket appeared on the Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad at the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Isaac Watson | NASA
Starliner launches on ULA’s Atlas V.
The capsule itself can carry up to four NASA astronauts and more than 200 pounds of research and cargo per flight. The spacecraft lands using a parachute and airbag system. Starliner is reusable, with each capsule designed to carry out up to 10 missions.
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