It’s been ten years since then-NASA chief Charles Bolden made an announcement at a dramatically staged press conference in front of American flags and with tears of emotion in his eyes: “The most important nation in the world cannot rely on just any space. travel “We’re going to have to rely on another country,” Bolden said – pledging to return to our own flights to the International Space Station (ISS). At the time, Bolden talked about 2017 – after that, little happened for a long time.
After the end of the space shuttle era, the American space agency NASA no longer wanted to develop and build it itself, but gave the order to aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the company SpaceX of tech billionaire Elon Musk. At the time, the long-standing Boeing company was believed to have a clear advantage with its ‘Starliner’ spacecraft and was awarded a contract that was almost twice as lucrative. But then Boeing faced crises, problems and delays. But on Tuesday (04:34 CEST, Monday 22:34 local time) – ten years after the big announcement in 2014 – it should finally start with a man.
Test astronauts aged 58 and 61 are very experienced
With NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams on board, the “Starliner” is expected to take off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in the US state of Florida. The spacecraft is expected to arrive at the ISS on Wednesday, where Wilmore and Williams are expected to stay for about a week. “It almost feels unreal,” said 58-year-old Williams, who had been aboard the ISS twice before, at a press conference beforehand. “We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t ready,” says her 61-year-old fellow astronaut Wilmore, who has also been to space twice. “We are ready. The spacecraft is ready and the team is ready.”
Meanwhile, competitor SpaceX has long since overtaken Boeing. In 2020, the “Crew Dragon” successfully undertook a crewed test to the ISS for the first time, and since then the astronaut transports have become so successful that the eighth regular crew with the “Dragon” is currently on the space station. Before the planned arrival of the “Starliner”, the “Crew Dragon” had to be moved to another docking station at the ISS.
“Starliner” is partially reusable
The “Starliner” is now intended to become the “Crew Dragon” alternative and thus significantly increase astronaut capacity – but first the spacecraft must prove itself. During a first unmanned test in 2019, the ‘Starliner’ did not even arrive at the ISS. The spacecraft is a partially reusable spacecraft consisting of a three-meter high crew capsule and a service module and can carry up to seven crew members, but is primarily designed for four people and, unlike the “Crew Dragon”, is not located on the water, but ends on earth.
A second unmanned test flight was successful in 2022, but numerous problems subsequently arose, further delaying a planned manned test flight. Of course you wish you were further along, Boeing executive Mark Nappi said at a news conference. “There’s no doubt about it, but here we are.”
NASA boss: “Golden age of space travel”
Current NASA boss Bill Nelson is also emphatically optimistic about the future of the ‘Starliner’: ‘History is being made here. We are in a golden age of space travel.”
Source: Krone
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