The space capsule “Starliner”, developed by Boeing on behalf of the American space agency NASA, has made its first successful test flight to the International Space Station. After about four days in the ISS, the unmanned spacecraft disengaged from the space station as scheduled on Wednesday and landed a few hours later in the US state of New Mexico.
It was an important test for the crisis-ravaged “Starliner”. In the future, the spaceship will transport astronauts to the ISS as an alternative to SpaceX’s “Crew Dragon” space capsule. However, due to a number of issues, the project is way behind schedule.
Tests had to be delayed several times
Actually, the “Starliner” should have been in service for a long time, but during an initial test in December 2019, the spacecraft did not make it to the ISS – partly due to a problem with the automatic ignition of the drives. The tests were postponed several times last year – and then the “Starliner” finally had to return to the workshop completely due to valve problems.
NASA last week celebrated a “milestone” launch from Cape Canaveral Cosmodrome. On board the spacecraft was more than 300 kilograms of cargo, including supplies for the crew of the outermost station of humanity.
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.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
