Boeing’s first crewed Starliner mission is finally heading to the ISS

Boeing’s inaugural Starliner flight with a crew on board successfully launched into space atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, nearly a month after its initial scheduled launch date. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams entered the Starliner capsule and completed necessary checks by 10:08AM ET. Shortly after, the CEO of ULA tweeted about an issue with topping valves on the ground side, which was resolved through a workaround, allowing the spacecraft to lift off at 10:52am ET.

The flight was originally scrubbed on May 6 due to anomalous behavior in the liquid oxygen tank of the Centaur upper stage. After resolving this issue, a small helium leak was discovered in the spacecraft’s service module, causing another delay. NASA and Boeing determined that the leak did not pose a safety threat and rescheduled the launch for June 1. The launch was briefly delayed last week due to a configuration issue with the ground launch sequencer.

Aside from the astronauts, Starliner carried 760 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station, including food and supplies for the crew onboard. Wilmore and Williams will spend eight days on the ISS conducting tests to assess the spacecraft’s readiness for future missions. Successful completion of the mission will initiate the final certification process for crewed missions to the space station.

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