A few hours ago, the Boeing Starliner spaceship began its journey to the International Space Station (ISS), in a test that will pretty much make or break the project. Scheduled for docking later today (May 20), the machine was off to a perfect start, as clearly demonstrated in the under-a-minute video posted below this text.
Soon after departure (31 minutes in), and after the separation from the Atlas V capsule that carried it off the pad, the capsule successfully performed the orbital insertion burn, and is presently en route to the ISS, carrying with it 800 pounds (362 kilograms) of cargo (500 pounds/227 kg on behalf of NASA, the rest undisclosed).
There’s even a commemorative U.S. flag on board, which will remain on the station until Boeing launches a Starliner that is capable of taking up and bringing back an American crew.
This is the third time Boeing is trying to make the Starliner a companion to the SpaceX Crew Dragon in carrying astronauts to and from the ISS. The first time it did it, in December 2019, software issues prevented the capsule from docking with the ISS.
The second time, in August last year, the thing didn’t even leave the pad and spent about ten months getting fixed and ready for the current mission.
“We’ve learned a lot about the capability of our spacecraft and the resilience of our team since the first Starliner launch,” said in a statement Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program.
“We still have a lot of operational testing ahead as we prepare to rendezvous with the space station, but we’re ready to demonstrate the system we’ve worked so hard on is capable of carrying astronauts to space.”
We’ll keep our eyes pinned to the sky and will update this story when and if the Starliner docks with the station.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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