Starliner launched on June 5th from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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Boeing has successfully launched its Starliner spacecraft with a crew for the first time on its third attempt, a landmark launch that gives NASA two commercial options for sending astronauts into space: Boeing and SpaceX.
Starliner was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. June 5th, 10:52 AM (local time) After several years of delays, the manned launch has finally come to fruition. Initially, the manned launch was expected to take place by the end of 2017, but the plans fell behind schedule. The mission was finally scheduled to launch in May, but a valve failure forced NASA to abort the mission. The second launch on June 1 was scheduled for Discarded Due to computer problems.
But the third launch just a few days later was successful, with the capsule reaching orbit as planned. Carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, they made the 24-hour journey to the International Space Station, where they will stay for about a week to test various systems before returning to Earth aboard the same spacecraft.
The capsule was named Calypso. Reportedly Named after Jacques Cousteau's oceanographic ship, the mission's goal is to verify that Starliner is safe to transport crew to the ISS. If these tests are successful and the two astronauts return safely to Earth aboard Starliner, similar ships could begin annual crewed flights to the space station.
Each Starliner is designed to last up to 10 round trips, carrying up to seven people per flight, though a standard operational flight will likely only carry three or four astronauts.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Two contracts won Ten years ago, there were bids for a shuttle ship to transport crew to the International Space Station. One bid was for Boeing's Starliner, the other was SpaceX's Dragon capsule. Dragon outdid Starliner with its first crewed flight in 2020.
Starliner will be the sixth manned orbital spacecraft launched by the United States, following Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle and Dragon.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
