At last, Starliner is headed to the space station
Nearly two and a half years after its first launch didn’t go to plan, Boeing’s new passenger spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, successfully launched to space this afternoon, reaching the right orbit it needed to achieve to rendezvous with the International Space Station tomorrow evening.
. In fact, this mission is a redo. Boeing attempted the same uncrewed Starliner flight back in December of 2019, but that mission — called OFT — suffered a series of software glitches. The capsule never made it to the International Space Station, and Boeing had to bring Starliner home early, failing to demonstrate its ability to dock with the ISS. Boeing agreed to redo the flight for NASA and got close to launching again last summer.
But it still has a lot to prove ahead. Next, it will need to show it can automatically dock with the International Space Station, using its onboard sensors to guide itself onto an open docking port. Then it will need to undock and come home, safely landing back on Earth. So while Starliner has seen success today, the work has just begun.
But today, the thruster firing seemed to go just fine, and Starliner is in its intended orbit. Additionally, Boeing did not seem to have any trouble with its propellant valves, which caused the company to scrub its last launch back in August of 2021. Before this flight, Boeing replaced the valves and added a sealant to prevent moisture from entering them and causing problems.
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