Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for its first manned flight. The test mission will send two astronauts to the International Space Station for a week-long stay.
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CAPE CANAVER, Fla. — The third time is the charm.
Boeing’s long-delayed Starliner capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying two NASA astronauts, arriving in orbit about 12 minutes later. The crew will spend the next 25 hours fighting to reach the International Space Station.
The mission, which marks the first time a commercially built capsule has carried astronauts aboard, is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station around 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, with astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore ) serves as commander, and Sunita “Suni” Williams serves as mission pilot.
This was Starliner’s third launch attempt. On Saturday, the countdown stopped with less than four minutes remaining. Problems with the flight computer controlling the launch were to blame. Launch provider ULA replaced the power supply on the system and prepared it for Wednesday’s launch. A launch attempt last month was canceled due to a valve failure on the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V rocket.
While fixing the problem, Boeing discovered another problem: helium leaks. The gas is used in the Starliner’s propulsion system. After reviewing the data, NASA is confident Boeing can successfully execute the mission.
With all of these issues resolved and the Starliner on its way to the space station, it appears that the third attempt does have the charm. Now launched, Wilmore and Williams will take Starliner on its first flight to test the spacecraft ahead of NASA’s mission. After the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA partnered with two commercial companies, Boeing and SpaceX, to transport astronauts to and from the space station.
But Boeing lags behind its commercial space transportation peer SpaceX, which has flown nine missions for NASA and another four privately. An unmanned Starliner mission in 2019 failed to reach the International Space Station, in part because of a problem with the flight computer code. NASA and Boeing considered the 2022 relaunch a success, but it was later discovered that there was a problem with the capsule’s parachute system.
An analysis also found that the tape used to manage hundreds of feet of cables inside the spacecraft is flammable. Boeing addressed the issues and received approval from NASA to launch astronauts
But last month’s first attempt to launch a manned mission was canceled due to problems with the rocket responsible for propelling Starliner into space.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams wear Boeing spacesuits as they leave the Operations and Inspection Building and head to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. This is their third trip to space.
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Wilmore and Williams will test Starliner’s critical systems, including life support and communications, while it docks with the space station. While the spacecraft can essentially fly on its own, the pair will test the spacecraft’s manual controls as it approaches the orbiting outpost.
The crew will spend about a week aboard the space station and land under a parachute in the southwestern United States as planned. NASA plans to split astronaut flights between Boeing and SpaceX, with a trip to the International Space Station about every six months.
