On Wednesday, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, whose launch had to be postponed several times in the past month due to various technical problems, was successfully launched, the site wrote. BBC. In early May, for safety reasons, due to a helium leak in mid-May, three days before the launch, a computer stopped the countdown after an automatic check.
But on Wednesday, the takeoff was a success.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft, carrying astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Sonny” Williams, launched to test the space capsule on its maiden flight before NASA allows it to regularly transport crews to and from the International Space Station.
Ten years ago, NASA ordered two new astronaut vehicles from the American companies Boeing and SpaceX to transport their astronauts to the International Space Station. SpaceX has been operating as a space taxi for four years. The mission is important for NASA because the second vehicle will be better able to handle potential emergency situations.
The mission is expected to last a week. The Starliner will arrive at the space station about 24 hours after liftoff, which promises a smooth ride, but astronauts Willmore and Williams plan to conduct some tests on board. One such test is to experiment with manual control of the capsule.
Although the Starliner is a robotic spacecraft, the duo wants to know how to maneuver the Starliner in an emergency.
“We have seen situations like this on other vehicles, where, for example, the automated docking sensors failed and the crew had to manually guide the capsule to the docking point at the station,” they said.
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