Boeing shared a video showing an idyllic view from the window of its CST-100 Starliner capsule as it headed into space during its recent unmanned test flight.
The footage shows the Earth coming into view and turning on an orbital sunset as the spacecraft makes its way to the International Space Station (ISS) for a short stay. Take a close look at the 43-second sign and you’ll also see an object – whether it’s a piece of space rock or a satellite – passing by.
#TopGun drivers aren’t the only ones with #NeedForSpeed! #RosietheRocketeer and Kerbalnaut Jebediah Kerman reached 17,500 mph as #Starliner orbited the Earth on its way to @Space_Station. See the orbit views here. pic.twitter.com/Ac0lj1adzv
– Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) May 28, 2022
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday, May 19, launched into orbit by the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket.
Starliner took Rosie the Rocketeer with her on the trip, equipped with a sensor mannequin that allowed scientists to monitor and evaluate conditions inside the capsule during her key five-day mission.
The spacecraft also carried Jebedia Kerman, a character in the Kerbal Space Program, who acted as an indicator of zero gravity in flight.
After leaving £ 500 in provisions for ISS astronauts, the capsule returned home on a parachute landing in the New Mexico desert on Wednesday (May 25th).
Engineers are still evaluating all the data from the mission, but the initial indications are that everything went according to plan.
The spacecraft certainly performed better than on its first flight in 2019, when software problems prevented it from reaching the ISS.
If it is confirmed that the recent mission was successful, Boeing will work with NASA to organize the first Starliner crew flight to the space station, which may take place before the end of this year.
The flight with a crew will aim to offer definitive proof of the safety and reliability of the capsule, which will allow NASA to use it regularly for astronaut missions to and from the ISS. Currently, the US space agency has access to only one operational capsule – Crew Dragon of SpaceX. Crew Dragon completed its first astronaut flight in 2020 and is now an integral part of NASA’s low-Earth orbit missions.
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