Two NASA astronauts were headed to the International Space Station on Wednesday after Boeing’s groundbreaking Starliner capsule finally made its much-delayed first crewed flight from Cape Canaveral.
The visually stunning launch, against a mostly clear and blue Florida sky, came seven years after the spacecraft’s original target date, five years after the failure of an unmanned test flight and after a more recent series of postponements for technical reasons involving launch attempts. broken off twice.
Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams reached orbit 12 minutes after launch at 10:52 a.m. ET. They will dock with the ISS shortly after noon on Thursday, and if the eight- to 10-day mission is successful, Starliner will give NASA a second private option to take humans to lower Earth orbit, in addition to the Dragon capsule SpaceX.
Bill Nelson, the agency’s administrator and former space shuttle astronaut, called what he said “a special moment.”
“This is another milestone in this extraordinary history of NASA,” he told a press conference after the launch. “The whole team has gone through many trials and tribulations. But they had perseverance.
“With Dragon and Starliner, the US will have two unique human space transport systems. We always want to have a backup that makes it safer for our astronauts.
“That’s why we started the commercial crew program [CCP] primarily by working with American companies to achieve safe and reliable spaceflight while reducing costs. When we expand our fleet of spacecraft, we extend our reach to the stars.”
The launch also provided a welcome boost for Boeing. Although space operations are run independently of the aviation division, executives will be happy that the company’s name is linked to good news after a recent series of safety and quality problems.
“The entire company has rallied around us. It makes me emotional talking about it,” Aaron Kraftcheck, senior manager for Starliner flight software, design and development, told reporters in April.
NASA has ordered six more astronaut rotational flights to the space station from Boeing as part of the CCP. Each capsule can be flown up to 10 times, Boeing says, with a six-month turnaround time between each mission.
The hi-tech Starliner capsule, officially called CST-100 (crew space transport), is designed to completely transform the way astronauts fly in space. Thanks to the autonomous flight, navigation and course correction systems, Williams and Wilmore are essentially just passengers, although they can intervene manually if necessary.
The innovation includes a weld-free design, which reduces the risk of structural failure, and interior space comparable to that of a mid-size SUV. Starliner can carry up to seven people, but will be configured for four astronauts and cargo for flights to space stations.
The current crew members both have extensive spaceflight experience, having spent more than 500 days in orbit between them on previous Space Shuttle and ISS missions. With Wednesday’s launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, Williams became the first woman to fly in an orbital test vehicle.
“Butch and Suni have a lot to offer when it comes to helping us as a team get to a place where we are ready to fly. They have been an integral part of the process for years, and it all culminates in this process,” LeRoy Cain, mission integration and operations manager for Boeing’s commercial crew program, and former NASA flight director, told NASA TV.
Cain was flight director during the 2002 Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, which killed seven astronauts, and he said safety was a top priority.
“Space exploration is not for the faint of heart. It has the highest highs and the lowest lows. It’s very unforgiving [and] the margins are small. I expect it to be a very successful flight test. I think we’ll learn some things, we learn every time we fly. And that’s part of the beauty of this company, part of the reason we were so attracted to exploring space.”
Wilmore, in a short speech from the Starliner cockpit before launch, paid tribute to the hundreds of NASA and Boeing employees who worked on the mission, and the 450 suppliers from 37 states who contributed.
“[They are] people who use their gifts and talents for the greater good are passionate,” he said.
“We all know that when the going gets tough, and it often does, the going gets tough, and Suni and I are honored to share this dream of spaceflight with all of you.”
