The Starliner shuttle is finally on its way to the International Space Station with two astronauts on board.
After a very long wait, made up of countless postponements due to technical problems and costs that exceeded those initially expected by over a billion, the Starliner shuttle is on its way to the International Space Station with two astronauts on board. The space capsule developed by Boeing in collaboration with NASA was launched Wednesday from Cape Canaveral with a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
On board there are two NASA veterans: Butch Wilmore, in the role of commander, and Suni Williams as pilot. The launch went smoothly and the separation of the Starliner from the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V also succeeded without problems.
It was a moment that had been awaited for years: initially scheduled for April 2023, the flight had been rescheduled for the end of July and then postponed several times due to technical problems of a different nature, from parachutes to the coating of the electrical circuits.
While the Starliner was struggling with its technical problems, SpaceX’s (Elon Musk) Crew Dragon continued to collect successes starting from May 2020, to the point of having 13 flights under its belt in which it brought 50 astronauts and cosmonauts.
The two astronauts on board the Starliner are undertaking a 25-hour flight and are expected to arrive at the Space Station at 6.15pm on Thursday 6 June, where the seven colleagues of the current crew, made up of four Americans and three Russians, await them .
Once the shuttle is docked at the Space Station, Wilmore and Williams will face a week of work during which they will have to carry out the tests necessary for the Starliner to obtain NASA certification of suitability for the transport of astronauts. If all goes well, the United States space agency will have two space taxis under its belt as the Starliner will alternate with the Crew Dragon in transporting men and supplies to the ISS.
