Boeing Starliner Crewed Mission
Boeing Starliner Crewed Mission spacecraft takes off for the first time with humans on board, bound for the International Space Station
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully launched with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams aboard after two previous launch attempts were canceled. This marks the first crewed flight of the Starliner, with the astronauts heading to the International Space Station for about a week to test the spacecraft and its subsystems. Despite setbacks and delays in development, Boeing is working towards certification for routine missions to the ISS, positioning itself as the U.S.’s second option for manned spaceflight after SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
Key Concepts
- Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully launched with NASA astronauts aboard.
- Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are the astronauts on this mission.
- The mission is the first crewed flight of Starliner and is headed to the ISS.
- The astronauts will spend a day in orbit before docking with the ISS for testing.
- This flight is crucial for NASA to certify Boeing for routine missions to the ISS.
- Boeing’s Starliner program has faced setbacks and delays in development.
- Issues include a software error, valve problems, and technical issues.
- Boeing is the U.S.’s second option for manned spaceflight after SpaceX.
Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft is already carrying NASA astronauts to space. After the first two failed launch attempts, Interstellar Line was launched at 10:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday (June 5). American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams travel to the International Space Station (ISS).
It was the first crewed flight for Interstellar, with the previous two liftoffs taking Wilmore and Williams to the International Space Station canceled before launch. On May 6, just as the two astronauts entered the spacecraft, ground officials noticed a malfunction in the oxygen pressure relief valve of the second stage of the Atlas V rocket. The second launch was canceled on Saturday, less than four minutes before liftoff. The failure was related to a fault being discovered in the computer system controlling the final countdown.
Wilmore and Williams will spend a day in orbit before rendezvousing and docking with the International Space Station. They will remain on the International Space Station for about a week, testing the spacecraft and its subsystems.
It will be the last flight before the government space agency NASA can certify Boeing for routine shuttle missions to and from the International Space Station.
Boeing will become the United States’ second manned space flight option, following Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Since 2020, SpaceX has been carrying out astronaut pickup and delivery missions to the International Space Station for NASA.
The Starliner project has endured years of costly setbacks and delays.
During an unmanned test flight in 2019, the spacecraft entered the wrong flight trajectory due to a software error and returned to Earth before reaching the International Space Station.
Another launch was delayed in 2021 because of a valve issue. In 2022, an unmanned spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station. But the spacecraft has since had several problems, including the discovery of flammable tape in the cabin and insufficient parachutes.