The third time was the charm for the Boeing Starliner and its crew, finally rocketing into space after multiple delays.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying astronauts for the first time in six decades finally blasted off Wednesday and safely boosted Boeing 's long-delayed Starliner crew ferry ship into space for its first piloted test flight, a shakedown cruise to the International Space Station .The workhorse Atlas 5's Russian-built RD-180 first stage engine roared to life at 10:52 p.m. EDT, followed an instant later by ignition of two strap-on solid fuel boosters.Generating a combined 1.
In three previous flights, both stages were destroyed in flight, but performance dramatically improved with each launch as upgrades and fixes were implemented, and SpaceX expects more of the same with the fourth test flight.The Super Heavy has nothing to do with Boeing's Starliner or the space station, but NASA will be paying close attention because the agency plans to use a variant of the Starship to carry astronauts down to the moon's surface in its Artemis program.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Boeing Starliner launches 2 NASA astronauts into space in first piloted test flightNASA and Boeing successfully launched two astronauts into space from Florida Wednesday, June 5, after the third attempt to send Starliner to the International Space Station.
Read more »
Live updates: Boeing Starliner flies NASA astronauts into space for first timeThis is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
Boeing Starliner successfully launches 2 astronauts from International Space Station from FloridaBoeing will attempt to launch its historic Starliner spacecraft with two astronauts aboard to the International Space Station from Florida on Wednesday morning.
Read more »
Boeing Starliner to launch 2 astronauts to International Space Station from FloridaBoeing will attempt to launch its historic Starliner spacecraft with two astronauts aboard to the International Space Station from Florida on Wednesday morning.
Read more »
NASA again delays 1st astronaut-crewed flight into space on Boeing's StarlinerThe next launch opportunity is on Wednesday, the agency said.
Read more »
Boeing's Starliner ready for Saturday launch to space station, first flight with crew on boardIf the first piloted test flight goes well, NASA hopes to certify the Starliner for regularly scheduled service starting next year.
Read more »