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The Boeing CST-100 Starliner docked at the International Space Station for the first time on Friday night.
The spacecraft made its first connection with the Harmony module of the International Space Station (ISS) at 20:28 EDT.
Boeing said – in addition to ground controllers in Houston – astronauts from the space station observed Starliner in flight and sometimes commanded the spacecraft to test control capabilities.
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Despite the failure of several pushers, the automated rapprochement passed without a serious problem.
Starliner launched with a rocket from the United Launch Alliance Atlas V from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida at 18:54 ET on Thursday.
The Boeing-2 (OFT-2) orbital flight test is the second unmanned test flight of a commercial spacecraft with a crew.
This image from NASA TV shows a Boeing Starliner preparing to dock at the International Space Station on Friday, May 20, 2022. The Boeing astronaut’s capsule arrived at the International Space Station in a critical repeat test flight. Test word only (NASA via AP / AP Newsroom)
The mission is designed to provide Boeing and NASA with enough data to certify the spacecraft for long-range missions with a crew to the ISS.
Starliner spent its first hours in space, conducting a series of demonstrations of the system, allowing mission leaders to verify that the spacecraft is strong and can maneuver safely. After docking, Starliner recharged its batteries using solar grilles located on the service module, ”Boeing said.
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While hooked up, the station crew will sail inside the Starliner, make an initial cabin tour and periodically inspect the system while ground controllers assess the data collected during the flight.
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According to NASA, the opening of the Starliner hatch is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m. EDT on Saturday.
Starliner will leave the space station, carrying more than 600 pounds of cargo, on Wednesday, May 25.
This load will include reusable tanks for the nitrogen and oxygen charging system, which provide breathing air to the crew members of the station. The tanks will be repaired and sent back to the ISS for a future flight.
After certification, NASA’s Starliner missions will carry up to four crew members.
A United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket carrying the capsule of a Boeing Starliner crew took off on a second test flight to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Thursday (AP Photo / John Raoux / AP Newsroom)
“OFT-2 will provide valuable data to NASA, certifying Boeing’s transport system for scheduled flights with astronauts to and from the space station,” the agency said.
“Starliner has proven a safe, autonomous ability to meet and dock,” said Jim Chilton, senior vice president of Boeing Space and Launch. “We are honored to join the fleet of commercial spacecraft capable of providing transportation services to NASA’s space station.”
Both Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts by NASA in 2014 to build spacecraft capable of taking crews to the orbital laboratory, but SpaceX is the only company to build astronauts so far.
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The only other time Starliner was in space, he was in the wrong orbit.
The company’s first test flight in 2019 was interrupted by software errors and corroded valves stopped the capsule from taking off last summer.
Brie Stimson of Fox Business and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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