Article

2024-06-06 Science & Technology

Boeing launches NASA astronauts for the first time after years of delays

[NYPOST] Boeing launched astronauts for the first time Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA.

A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft.

The trip by Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams was expected to take 25 hours, with an arrival Thursday. They will spend just over a week at the orbiting lab before climbing back into Starliner for a remote desert touchdown in the western U.S. on June 14.

Years late because of spacecraft flaws, Starliner’s crew debut comes as the company struggles with unrelated safety issues on its airplane side.

Wilmore and Williams — retired Navy captains and former space station residents — stressed repeatedly before the launch that they had full confidence in Boeing’s ability to get it right with this test flight. Crippled by bad software, Starliner’s initial test flight in 2019 without a crew had to be repeated before NASA would let its astronauts strap in. The 2022 do-over went much better, but parachute problems later cropped up and flammable tape had to be removed from the capsule.

Wednesday’s launch was the third attempt with astronauts since early May, coming after a pair of rocket-related problems, most recently last weekend. A small helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system also caused delays, but managers decided the leak was manageable and not a safety issue.

“I know it’s been a long road to get here,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said before the weekend delay.

Posted by Fred 2024-06-06 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11147 views ] Top

#1 Hope the door holds.

Snark O'The Day

Posted by Skidmark 2024-06-06 07:21|| 2024-06-06 07:21|| Front Page Top

#2 Boeing Starliner spacecraft experiencing helium leaks ahead of docking at space station

Posted by Skidmark 2024-06-06 07:52|| 2024-06-06 07:52|| Front Page Top

#3 /\ Foggy Bottom should have stepped in at the launch pad and pulled a Scotty Ritter.

Posted by Besoeker 2024-06-06 07:56|| 2024-06-06 07:56|| Front Page Top

#4 Starship / Superheavy test this morning good so far. The smaller Dragon and Starliner will become irrelevant once the ISS is decommissioned.

Posted by M. Murcek 2024-06-06 09:03|| 2024-06-06 09:03|| Front Page Top

#5 Elon Musk's Starship lifts off! World's most powerful rocket launches for fourth test flight

Posted by Skidmark 2024-06-06 09:06|| 2024-06-06 09:06|| Front Page Top

#6 This is something the Russians and Chinese are not just behind on, but not even in the game.

Posted by M. Murcek 2024-06-06 09:09|| 2024-06-06 09:09|| Front Page Top

#7 Skidmark for snark of the day.

Posted by Deacon+Blues 2024-06-06 10:10|| 2024-06-06 10:10|| Front Page Top

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