Aircraft manufacturer Boeing flew astronauts into space for the first time

North American aircraft manufacturer Boeing this Wednesday flew astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time aboard its Starliner spacecraft in a test mission that is proceeding after several delays.

The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket with the Starliner spacecraft attached took off at 10:52 a.m. (3:52 p.m. Lisbon time) from Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. , United States.

On the Starliner, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the North American Space Agency (NASA) are heading to the ISS.

The spacecraft, which is carrying a new pump for the ISS astronaut urine recycling system to replace a failed one, is expected to dock with the space station at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will stay on the ISS for a week and return to Earth on the same ship.

Boeing, which is under investigation for safety flaws in its planes, wants to demonstrate with this crewed test flight that Starliner can safely begin regular flights, albeit with a four-year delay compared to rival SpaceX, owned by tycoon Elon Musk, which is due to launch in 2020. transports NASA astronauts to the ISS.

Once Starliner is operating at full capacity, NASA plans to alternate flights between SpaceX and Boeing.

The launch of Starliner’s manned test flight took place after years of successive delays and two takeoff attempts canceled at the last minute due to technical problems.

In early May and last Saturday, takeoffs were canceled at the last minute while the astronauts were already seated and the spacecraft was full of fuel.

Boeing now plans to begin commercial flights to the International Space Station in February 2025 after completing the certification process.