Boeing has finally docked the CST-100 Starliner in the International Space Station.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, a brand new passenger spacecraft developed by the company, was able to successfully dock itself to the International Space Station (ISS). The CST-100 Starliner demonstrated that it could potentially bring humans to the ISS soon.
This is a significant milestone for Boeing. After many years of setbacks, the Starliner mission was finally successful in validating an essential capability in space.
Boeing's Journey to ISS
The CST-100 Starliner mission is essentially a redo of an earlier mission that Boeing attempted in 2019 called OFT. The recent mission is now called OFT-2 as it is its 2nd attempt.
During the first OFT mission, Starliner was successfully launched into space according to the plans, but a problem with the software prevented the capsule from getting into the correct orbit in order to successfully rendezvous with the ISS.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Boeing was forced to bring the vehicle home earlier than planned, and the company could not successfully demonstrate Starliner's ability to dock with the ISS.
Approximately two and a half years later, Starliner has at long last demonstrated the capabilities for which it was conceived. The capsule automatically docked itself to an available docking port on the space station by employing several sensors to perform the maneuver.
As reported by The Verge, during the livestream of the docking, a communications representative for Boeing named Steve Siceloff said, "Boeing Starliner spacecraft completes its historic first docking to the International Space Station, opening a new avenue of access for crews to the orbiting laboratory."
Due to some issues with Starliner's graphics and docking ring, which were resolved just before the docking, the docking process took a little more than an hour longer than it was supposed to.
Boeing Reaches International Space Station
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 8:28 p.m. E.T. On May 19, the mission's destination was the International Space Station. The Starliner spacecraft lifted off aboard an Atlas V rocket provided by United Launch Alliance from Space Launch Complex-41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
After successfully passing this test, NASA missions will use Starliner to transport up to four crew members to the ISS. This will make it possible to continue adding members to the station's crew, which in turn will increase the amount of research that can be carried out inside the orbiting laboratory.
Oft-2 will collect important data that NASA can use to evaluate and possibly approve Boeing's crew transportation system for use on routine trips carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
According to NASA, On May 25, Starliner is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station and begin its journey back to Earth. It will make a landing in a desert somewhere in the western United States.
The spacecraft will bring back more than 300 kilograms of cargo, some of which will be reusable tanks for the Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System. These tanks supply the station crew with air that they can breathe. The tanks will be fixed on Earth, and then they will be brought to the International Space Station on an upcoming mission.
