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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully launched into orbit on Thursday night from Cape Canaveral on its way to the International Space Station, NASA said.
The unmanned spacecraft, which is carrying about 800 pounds of cargo, is expected to dock at the ISS at about 19:10 ET on Friday, NASA explained in a briefing after the launch. The hatch will be open on Saturday morning.
The delayed launch was Boeing’s first successful launch after two previous unsuccessful attempts to reach the ISS.
“What an amazing launch,” said Katie Lueders, assistant administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Directorate, at the briefing. “We’re working on a few things,” but overall, the vehicle has so far – its insert has burned out and is ready for use, and we’re really looking forward to it appearing on the International Space Station.
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The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launched from Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. (Joel Cousky / NASA via AP / AP Newsroom)
Two of the spacecraft’s pushers were damaged, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stitch said, adding that the backups had been launched successfully. “We need to do a little more work to understand why they failed,” he said. There are a total of 12 propulsion devices on the spacecraft.
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He added that the sublimator, which “throws water into space to cool the spacecraft”, was initially a bit slow, but worked well after being in orbit.
A United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket carrying the capsule of a Boeing Starliner crew took off on a second test flight to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Thursday (AP Photo / John Raoux / AP Newsroom)
Joel Montaband, NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager, called it a “remarkable” mission, saying it “provides a second crew provider to the International Space Station team and the NASA program as a whole.”
A ULA Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner spacecraft took off from Site 41 of Cape Canaveral Space Station for the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission on May 19, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA on May 19, 2022. (Photo by Paul Hennessy / Anadolu Agency through Getty Images / Getty Images)
Both Boeing and SpaceX received contracts from NASA in 2014 to build spacecraft capable of transporting crews to the ISS, but SpaceX was the only company to build astronauts so far.
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Boeing’s previous failed attempts were in 2019, when the spacecraft failed to board due to a major software problem, and in 2021, when engineers discovered that more than a dozen service module valves could not be opened before launch, according to the Washington Post.
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