Boeing’s starliner capsule returns after 6-day flight to international space station
May 28, 2022, 7:03 AM
Boeing and NASA teams work around Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Ranges Space Harbor, on May 25, 2022 at the White Sands Missle Range, New Mexico. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
(Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
Boeing’s Starliner space capsule landed Wednesday in New Mexico, finishing a 6-day unmanned flight test in which the spacecraft was able to dock at the International Space Station.
The trip marks the third time Boeing attempted to launch its craft into space — an estimated $600 million spent — and paves the way to sending crews onboard future flights.
“We have had an excellent flight test of a complex system that we expected to learn from along the way and we have,” Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing Commercial Crew Program, said in the release.
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Some of the functions the space capsule demonstrated were its autonomous software and on-orbit operations of various systems, ability to receive commands from the space station, cargo transfer, and battery charging.
“With the completion of OFT-2, we will incorporate lessons learned and continue working to prepare for the crewed flight test and NASA certification,” Nappi added.
The aerospace company signed a contract with NASA in 2014 to build spacecraft that astronauts could board to the ISS.
If Boeing completes a second flight, it would mean NASA will have fulfilled its goal of having two commercial vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to the ISS from American soil.
“NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and our industry partner, Boeing, today took a major and successful step on the journey to enabling more human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station on American spacecraft from American soil,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The OFT-2 mission represents the power of collaboration, which allows us to innovate for the benefit of humanity and inspire the world through discovery.”
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