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Boeing: »Starliner« reaches international space station ISS for the first time

2022-05-21T02:27:45.912Z


There had always been problems with Boeing's "Starliner" project: Now the spacecraft has docked at the ISS. NASA had already described the start as a "milestone".


Enlarge image

The Boeing »Starliner« docking with the International Space Station (ISS)

Photo: NASA via AP/dpa

After taking off from the Cape Canaveral spaceport, Boeing's "Starliner" has arrived at the International Space Station for the first time.

The unmanned spacecraft docked at the outpost of mankind around 400 kilometers above the earth on Saturday night after a good one-day flight.

The important test for the crisis-ridden »Starliner« was initially successful.

The project is more than two years behind schedule due to a number of issues.

Boeing's spacecraft is intended to transport astronauts to the ISS in the future as an alternative to SpaceX's "Crew Dragon" space capsule.

That should have happened long ago, but during a first test in December 2019, the spacecraft did not make it to the ISS - partly because of a problem with the automatic ignition of the engines.

In the past year, the mission was postponed several times - and then the "Starliner" finally had to go back to the workshop completely because of valve problems.

NASA had described the start as a "milestone".

On board are over 300 kilograms of cargo, including supplies for the crew of the ISS.

The Starliner is a semi-reusable spacecraft consisting of a crew capsule and a rocket-launched service module.

Once approved for human transport, it can carry up to four crew members to the ISS.

bbr/dpa

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2022-05-21

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