Boeing’s astronaut capsule arrives at the International Space Station for an uncrewed test after several failed attempts.
With just a test dummy on board, Boeing’s astronaut capsule stopped and parked at the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time, a major achievement for the company after years of false starts.
With the arrival of Starliner on Friday night, NASA has finally caught on to its long-standing effort to get manned capsules from competing US companies to fly to the space station.
SpaceX already has a start in the works. Elon Musk’s company took the same test three years ago and since then it has launched 18 astronauts to the space station, as well as tourists.
“Today marks a huge milestone,” NASA astronaut Bob Hines radioed from the orbiting complex. “Starliner looks beautiful in front of the station,” he added.
The only other time Boeing’s Starliner flew into space, it never came close to the station and ended up in the wrong orbit.
This time, the refurbished spacecraft arrived at the right place after Thursday’s launch and docked with the station 25 hours later. The automated rendezvous went off without a hitch, despite the failure of a handful of thrusters.
If the rest of the Starliner mission goes well, Boeing could be ready to launch its first crew later this year. Astronauts likely to be part of the first Starliner crew joined Boeing and NASA flight controllers in Houston as the action unfolded at nearly 270 miles (435 km) above the ground.
NASA wants redundancy when it comes to the Florida-based astronaut taxi service. Administrator Bill Nelson said Boeing’s long history with Starliner underscores the importance of having two types of crew capsules. American astronauts were stuck assembling Russian rockets after the shuttle program ended, until SpaceX’s first manned flight in 2020.
Boeing’s first Starliner test flight in 2019 was plagued by software bugs that shortened the mission and could have doomed the spacecraft. They were corrected, but when the new capsule waited for liftoff last summer, the valves corroded. stopped the countdown. More repairs followed, as Boeing booked nearly $600 million in renovation costs.
Before allowing Starliner to approach the space station on Friday, Boeing ground controllers practiced maneuvers with the capsule and tested its robotic vision system. Everything went well, Boeing said, except for a cooling circuit and four faulty boosters. However, the capsule maintained a constant temperature and had plenty of other propellants for guidance.
Once Starliner was within 15 km (10 miles) of the space station, Boeing flight controllers in Houston were able to see the space station through the capsule’s cameras. “We are waving. Can you see us?” Hines joked.
There was only silence from Starliner. The commander’s seat was once again filled by the mannequin nicknamed Rosie the Rocketeer, a space-age version of Rosie the Riveter from World War II.
The gleaming white capsule with blue trim remained within 10 meters (33 feet) of the station for nearly two hours, considerably longer than planned, while flight controllers adjusted its docking ring and made sure everything else was on. in order. When the green light finally came, Starliner closed the gap in four minutes, drawing cheers from Boeing’s control center. Applause erupted once the latches were securely fastened.
The seven space station astronauts will unload groceries and equipment from Starliner and pack them with experiments. Unlike SpaceX’s Dragon capsule landing off the coast of Florida, the Starliner will aim to land in New Mexico next Wednesday.