CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, USA - MAY 18 : The ULA Atlas V rocket carrying Boeingâs Starliner spacecraft stands at Space Launch Complex 41 for the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station at Cape Canaveral Space Force Sta CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With only a test dummy aboard, Boeing’s astronaut capsule pulled up and parked at the International Space Station for the first time Friday, a huge achievement for the company after years of false starts.With Starliner’s arrival, NASA finally realizes its longtime effort to have crew capsules from competing U.S.
companies flying to the space station.SpaceX already has a running start. Elon Musk’s company pulled off the same test three years ago and has since launched 18 astronauts to the space station, as well as tourists."Today marks a great milestone," NASA astronaut Bob Hines radioed from the space station. "Starliner is looking beautiful on the front of the station," he added.The only other time Boeing’s Starliner flew in space, it never got anywhere near the station, ending up in the wrong orbit.This time, the overhauled spacecraft made it to the right spot following Thursday’s launch and docked at the station 25 hours later.
The automated rendezvous went off without a major hitch, despite a pair of thrusters that failed during liftoff.If the rest of Starliner’s mission goes well, Boeing could be ready to launch its first crew by the end of this year.
The astronauts likely to serve on the first Starliner crew joined Boeing and NASA flight controllers in Houston, as the action unfolded nearly 270 miles (435 kilometers) up.NASA wants redundancy when it comes to the Florida-based astronaut taxi service.