Boeing’s first Starliner capsule on the International Space Station has officially opened to astronauts living in the orbiting laboratory.
commercial star player The spaceship, who came friday On an unmanned test flight to the station, it was opened by NASA astronaut Robert Haines at 12:04 am EDT (1604 GMT) to begin about five days of tests on the capsule. He is the master teacher Boeing and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which selected Boeing and SpaceX to transport astronauts to International space station in 2014.
Hines said, referring to SpaceX’s Starliner Dragon Crew Russia capsul soyuz. “So this is a very important day in NASA’s history and sets the stage for the future as we begin to enable commercial flights in low-Earth orbit as NASA visits the Moon and eventually to Mars.”
Live update: Boeing Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2 Mission to the International Space Station
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SpaceX has made five astronaut flights for NASA since May 2020, but Boeing’s Starliner is on a much clearer path.
Starliner failed to reach the International Space Station during the first OFT in December 2019 due to Interruption in the programThe second attempt was later called off hours before liftoff in August 2021 after the mission team found it stuck valve in the capsule drive system. These problems did not appear in the current Starliner test flight, called Test Flight Orbit-2 (OFT-2). (Though there were some minor glitches in the propulsion system, cooling system, and a slight delay during docking).
“That’s what we expect in a test flight and that’s why we’re testing it,” Haynes said Saturday. “If we don’t find something like that then we might be doing something wrong.”
That Booster malfunction shortly after Thursday launch It doesn’t appear to be related to any previous problems with the car. At a post-launch press conference Thursday evening, representatives from NASA and Boeing doubled their trust in the Starliner to complete its mission, despite the new thrust issues.
“This system is designed to be redundant, and it works as intended,” said Mark Naby, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Starliner spent Thursday night chasing the orbiting lab, beginning its promise test maneuver just after 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) on Friday. Prior to being transferred to the dock, the capsule had successfully demonstrated its ability to stop while driving as well as withdraw from the station in case of an emergency.
Satisfied with the results, flight operator Boeing instructed Starliner to initiate docking procedures, and the vehicle began to slowly move toward the station’s Harmoni module. At 20:28 EDT on Friday (0028 GMT on May 21), the Starliner officially docked with the International Space Station.
Over the next few days, crew members at the Starliner orbital laboratory will unload 500 pounds (226 kilograms) of supplies and supplies, then fill its hull with nearly 600 pounds (270 kilograms) of cargo set to return to Earth.
Living in the Starliner will be a Boeing trial, dubbed Emotional Rosie RocketerAfter Rosie the Riveter’s fame in the World War II era. Dressed in one of Boeing’s blue spacesuits, Rosie will remain in the cockpit of the Starliner to return to Earth.
Sensors on the Rosie were used to measure the tested acceleration force on the body during the plant’s first test flight. In OFT-2, sensors are now used to measure the effect of the same force on the Starliner seat during re-entry and landing. Starliner is set to return to Earth after a four to five day stay on the space station, the schedule of which is largely determined by the weather at the plane’s possible landing site in the western United States.
Boeing also added a little extra fun to the Starliner’s journey to the space station in the form of a Jebedia “Jeep” Karman dollKerbonaut pioneer space exploration game kirbal satelit satellite programwhich Boeing uses as a zero gram indicator to indicate when the capsule reaches space.
Editor’s Note: This story, originally posted at 6 a.m. ET, was updated at 2 p.m. ET with details of the Starliner slots opened by astronauts.
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