Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docks at the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
International Space Station astronauts closed the hatch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on Tuesday, and ground crews used the lab’s robotic arm to inspect the capsule’s heat shield to clear Wednesday’s vehicle of disconnection and return to Earth late. landing in New Mexico.
The spacecraft, owned by Boeing, launched last Thursday and docked at the space station on Friday night, reaching the research complex in orbit for the first time since staff stopped a test flight in 2019. The unmanned demonstration mission is due to end on Wednesday with an automated departure a space station, followed a few hours later by a hovercraft parachute in the White Sands spaceport.
NASA astronauts Kel Lindgren and Bob Hines closed the front hatch to the Starliner spacecraft at 15:00 EDT (19:00 GMT) on Tuesday. Hines became the first person to enter the Starliner spacecraft into orbit on Saturday when the station’s crew opened the hatch and began three days of checks and inspections in the capsule’s cabin.
Astronauts Jessica Watkins, Bob Hines, Kel Lindgren and Samantha Christophoretti on the International Space Station on Tuesday. Credit: NASA TV / Spaceflight Now
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