Finally, Boeing's space mission blasts off to the International Space Station – Science

Boeing's Starliner mission has finally been launched into space. Transporting NASA astronauts on the first manned test flight to the International Space Station. The launch took place at 3:52 pm without any problems.

The launch had previously been postponed to check the leak and repair the Boeing rocket that is expected to carry the Starliner capsule into space. a NASA confirmed the new date for today, June 5, to keep astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sonny Williams in quarantine.

Boeing announced a week ago that it is preparing to launch its first astronaut into space early next June, after spending weeks resolving the problems identified in the Starliner space capsule.

The CST-100 Starliner mission has already suffered several delays in achieving its goal Fulfilling the contract with NASA to transport astronauts To the International Space Station (ISS). The first manned flight was initially scheduled to take place on July 21, 2022, but it ended up being postponed successively.

first task, In 2019was unable to reach the International Space Station after a software malfunction occurred and the flight ended early. A new test is scheduled for summer 2021Which did not happen due to problems with some valves that were identified shortly before departure. Capsule It flew for only the second time in May 2022This time, it successfully docked with the International Space Station.

See inside the capsule in the gallery:

Starliner was developed by Boeing under a NASA program that selects and funds private companies to develop and operate spaceflight in partnership with the agency.. The value of the contract concluded between the two organizations is more than $4 billion.

You The two astronauts who continued their journey will remain on the International Space Station for about a week, to conduct all tests on the capsule and navigation systems so that Boeing can… Obtaining the final certification for passenger transport, becoming an alternative to SpaceX to serve NASA. Although it is a test, the astronauts are transporting parts to repair the urine processing system on the International Space Station. This is vital for converting urine into water and the system has been broken for about a week.

After the rocket's second stage separated, it turned on the thrusters and returned to Earth. As for the capsule, it will continue towards the International Space Station, and is now expected to dock at approximately 5:15 pm Thursday. At the beginning of May, astronauts on the International Space Station were “packing” the Dragon spacecraft to make room for the Boeing Starliner to dock.