CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Boeing launched astronauts for the first timeWednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA.
A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboardBoeings Starliner capsulefor the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft.
The trip byButch Wilmore and Suni Williamswas expected to take 25 hours, with an arrival Thursday. They will spend just over a week at the orbiting lab before climbing back into Starliner for a remote desert touchdown in the western U.S. on June 14.
Lets get going! Wilmore called out a few minutes before liftoff.
Half an hour later, he and Williams were safely in orbit and giving chase to the space station. Back at Cape Canaveral, the relieved launch controllers stood and applauded. After all the trouble leading up to Wednesday’s launch, including two scrapped countdowns, everything went smoothly before and during liftoff, prompting congratulations from SpaceX’s Elon Musk and others.
Today it all lined up, said Boeing program manager Mark Nappi.
Years late because of spacecraft flaws, Starliners crew debut comes as thecompany struggles with unrelated safety issueson its airplane side.
Wilmore and Williams retired Navy captains and former space station residents stressed repeatedly before the launch that they had full confidence in Boeings ability to get it right with this test flight. Crippled by bad software, Starliners initial test flight in 2019 without a crew had to be repeated before NASA would let its astronauts strap in. The2022 do-overwent much better, but parachute problems later cropped up and flammable tape had to be removed from the capsule.
Wednesday’s launch was the third attempt with astronauts since early May, coming after a pair of rocket-related problems, most recently last weekend. A small helium leak in the spacecrafts propulsion system also caused delays, but remained extremely low and manageable.
“It’s just a tough endeavor to get to flight and huge kudos to the entire team for getting there, said Steve Stich, NASAs commercial crew program manager.
Boeing was hired alongside Elon Musks SpaceX a decade ago to ferry NASAs astronauts to and from the space station. The space agency wanted two competing U.S. companies for the job in the wake of the space shuttles retirement, paying $4.2 billion to Boeing and just over half that to SpaceX, which refashioned the capsule it was using to deliver station supplies.
SpaceX launched astronauts into orbit in 2020, becoming the first private business to achieve what only three countries Russia, the U.S. and China had mastered. It has taken nine crews to the space station for NASA and three private groups for a Houston company that charters flights.
The liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was the 100th of an Atlas V for rocket maker United Launch Alliance. It was the first ride for astronauts on an Atlas rocket since John Glenns Mercury era more than 60 years ago; the rocket usually launches satellites and other spacecraft.
Despite the Atlas Vs perfect record, the human presence cranked up the tension for the scores of NASA and Boeing employees gathered at Cape Canaveral and Mission Control in Houston.
Boeings Starliner and SpaceXs Dragon are designed to be fully autonomous and reusable. Wilmore and Williams occasionally will take manual control of Starliner on their way to the space station, to check out its systems. The only snag early in the flight involved the capsule’s cooling system. More water was used than expected before the radiators took over in orbit. The tank will be refilled before the ride home.
If the mission goes well, NASA will alternate between SpaceX and Boeing for taxi flights, beginning next year. The backup pilot for this test flight, Mike Fincke, will strap in for Starliners next trip.
This is exciting. We built up to this moment for years and years, and it finally happened, Fincke said from neighboring Kennedy Space Center. I feel like the whole planet was cheering for them.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Leave a Reply