For the first time, the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS). At 2:28 am Dutch time, the spacecraft with which Boeing wants to bring astronauts to the space station successfully performed the maneuver, NASA and Boeing report.
The Starliner launched Thursday evening from the US space base in Cape Canaveral and arrived at its destination 26 hours later, 31 minutes later than planned. The aircraft had problems with two rocket engines, but according to Boeing, they did not pose a risk to the flight.
The capsule can carry seven people and will remain with the ISS until Wednesday before returning to Earth. As it was a test flight, the only passenger carried was a doll: ‘Rosie the Rocketeer’. There was also more than 200 kilograms of cargo on board for the crew of the ISS, one of the last ongoing collaborations between the United States and Russia. There are currently three American and three Russian astronauts on the space station.
Also read: Rosie the Rocketeer is on her way to the ISS
Issues
The launch came after two years of delays. At the end of 2019, a previous flight failed due to a computer error, causing the Starliner to go into a wrong orbit and unable to reach the ISS. Also, more system errors were discovered later. The Starliner program has so far cost almost 600 million dollars, converted 568 million euros.
The Starliner will allow NASA to transport astronauts to and from the ISS in the future. Furthermore, the Americans depend on the Crew Dragon of SpaceX, the commercial space company of Elon Musk – or on the Russian Soyuz. The space shuttle was retired by NASA in 2011.