Boeing's Starliner Finally Takes a Crew to Space

Starliner was supposed to launch May 6th but a problem with a buzzing oxygen valve , who hasn't had that , forced the launch to be scrubbed , the rescheduled launch on Saturday June 1st was again scrubbed this time due to a computer glitch but this morning Boeing finally got Starliner off the ground to carry a crew of 2 to the ISS , their ETA is tomorrow.


Well done chaps.
Glad the door didn't fall off.

a reply to: gortex

It's a great day for America.
What a nail-biter, though.

The big question is, can they bring them home? I haven't seen where they(Boeing) have fixed the issues with the Starliner heatshields. I, for one, would not have been too eager to climb aboard that thing just yet.

A nail-biter it will be once they undock and head home!

a reply to: gortex

Would you look at that flat earth?
That's amazing, the sheer raw power exhibited there. Spectacular!

Not to sound crass but why exactly is this a big deal? Not your post Gortex, but BOING (pun intended) launching a rocket. Hasn't Space X been ferrying folks for awhile now?

a reply to: Raptured

Boeing is partnered with NASA , Starliner is NASA's new crew transport to the ISS , it was originally due to launch in 2017 so it's been a long time coming , hopefully as mentioned by LetsGoViking they can get them back safely.

Yes, great job so far. Boeing really needed the 'boost'.

But the return.....could be rough.

a reply to: gortex

Well done chaps.
Glad the door didn't fall off.

While that was funny, they are not both "chaps."

The pilot on this mission is so cool and deserves a little bio here. Cpt. Sunita Williams USN.

She should be a bigger hero than she is. Naval helicopter test pilot instructor turned astronaut. Held several spacewalk duration records. Commanded Expedition 15. Along with holding a Masters degree.

I'm actually more interested in watching her dock this thing, which is still several hours away. I mean watch her sit in the pilot's seat and monitor it docking itself. I think both Crew Dragon and CST-100 are mostly automated.

They got lucky. Boeing should not be trusted with anything from this point forward.

Very high profile example of the crippling competency crisis facing the west thanks to discriminatory ESG & DEI policies, shareholder greed and general corruption.

Live tracking from mission control , 6 hours into the mission.

a reply to: charlest2
Columbus actually never made it to the America's, he just fell off never to be heard again from

a reply to: Degradation33

Awesome for the captain. If I had been on the hot seat with all of the Beoing stuff going wrong lately, not to mention the severe delay in getting this thing operable, the pucker factor would be off the charts. I'm glad it made it up safely, if a little late to the party. Let's hope for a safe return trip.

a reply to: gortex

Multiple helium leaks detected as STARLINER orbits the earth in preparation for docking at the ISS

Control valves to the affected areas have been closed

www.youtube.com...

a reply to: gortex

I hope they make it back in one piece. I wouldn't be caught dead in anything made by Boeing currently.

It looks like they are about to dock right now.

Docking Stream

a reply to: belkide

Thanks for the update , belkide.


Looks like docking has been put on hold while CapCom troubleshoot a problem.

Starliner is currently station-keeping with the ISS at a distance of about 200 meters away. They do not currently have the 'go' to enter the space station's 'keep-out sphere' and proceed with the docking process, as they troubleshoot an issue with the spacecraft's reaction control system thrusters on the service module, which experienced an anomaly during the manual fly-around maneuver.
www.space.com...

Next docking window in about 1 hour , test firing of thrusters first but it seems there's a problem with 2 of the thrusters.

a reply to: gortex

They just docked I see =) Thank you for the appreciation =)

a reply to: Degradation33

She should be a bigger hero than she is. Naval helicopter test pilot instructor turned astronaut. Held several spacewalk duration records. Commanded Expedition 15. Along with holding a Masters degree.

While that is all genuinely impressive, it doesn't make one a hero.

She has courage, no doubt about that.

Cheers

a reply to: Asher47

For real. Retard company fired a full HALF of their quality control team because it made the stock price go up. Who cares if stuff explodes, crashes, falls apart mid flight or has serious design flaws? The shareholders got a higher percentage that quarter.

Boeing should straight be nationalised and the current board & c-suite imprisoned. They absolutely should not be sending stuff to space.

I hope the crew make it back safe.

a reply to: Ohanka

Yes, let's nationalize them and put a bunch of petty bureaucrats in charge. We've all seen how well that works for the federal government. What a great idea!