Boeing spacecraft after successful launch en route to the ISS

It took a while, but now the unmanned Starliner has finally left after months of delay.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is on its way to the International Space Station. NASA said in a statement. It’s quite a milestone. Because the launch of the troubled spacecraft has been postponed time and again. Now the time has finally come! Will the Starliner make it to the finish line this time?

Launch

Boeing’s Starliner was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After about half an hour, the unmanned spacecraft successfully completed a maneuver, which now sends the craft heading straight for the ISS. “I am so proud of the teams from NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance who have worked so hard to see Starliner on its way to the International Space Station,” said NASA CEO Bill Nelson. “Through adversity, our teams have continued to innovate for the benefit of our nation and all of humanity. I look forward to a successful test flight of Starliner, which will enable manned missions with astronauts.”

Failed test flight

As mentioned, things did not always go well for the teams. The first unmanned test flight from Starliner to the ISS took place in December 2019. The launch of the spacecraft went smoothly, but unfortunately something went wrong shortly afterwards and it soon became apparent that the craft was not in the correct orbit. And so Starliner returned home empty-handed.

Launch postponed again and again

After the ‘failed’ test flight, it was unclear for a while whether this flight – in which the craft eventually returned to Earth safely – will lead to the postponement of the first manned flight of the Starliner. NASA initially hoped to deploy the Starliner sometime in the first quarter of 2020 to transport astronauts to the ISS. Ultimately, NASA and Boeing chose to retake the unmanned test flight before sending astronauts to the ISS. And so the teams got ready for attempt two. However, that second unmanned test flight to the ISS took a while. First, the launch was canceled at the end of July due to an accident with the Russian Nauka module at the ISS. But even a few days later it was no longer possible due to technical problems. The launch was canceled due to a problem with Starliner’s propulsion systems. And that came about quite late; the Atlas V rocket was already filled with fuel.

Crown at work

In the end, Starliner has been tinkered with for months. The fact that the spacecraft has now been successfully launched and is on its way to the ISS is therefore a crown on all the work. “I am incredibly grateful to our teams for their perseverance, determination and dedication to ensure we were ready for launch and test flight today,” said NASA’s Kathryn Lueders. “We learned so much as we prepared for this mission. And we look forward to seeing the spacecraft arrive at the space station for the first time.”

test flight

Starliner will not arrive at the ISS empty-handed. For example, there are hundreds of kilos of cargo on board. In addition, important data will be collected during the test flight that is important for the certification of the vessel. After the Starliner has successfully docked at the ISS, the craft will linger here for a while. On Wednesday, May 25, Starliner will depart again and return to Earth. And if everything goes according to plan, Boeing can get ready for the real thing: a manned test flight to the ISS. “We’ve learned a lot about the capabilities of our spacecraft and the resilience of our team since the initial launch of Starliner,” said Mark Nappi of the Boeing Commercial Crew Program† “We still have many operational tests ahead of us as we prepare to meet with the space station. But we are ready to demonstrate that the system we have worked so hard on is capable of carrying astronauts to space.”

Still, it’s still exciting. Because will Starliner succeed in docking successfully at the ISS this time? We will see!