The second commercial crew vehicle is cleared for human tests
On 19 May, spaceflight company Boeing finally flew the first successful uncrewed test mission of its Starliner crew module, which will serve as a ‘taxi’ carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. It arrived at the ISS the next day, where it was checked out by the station crew before returning to Earth on 26 May. The capsule is reusable, and so will now be refurbished ready for its next flight.
The success marks the end of a string of bad luck for Starliner, beginning in December 2019, when the spacecraft made its first uncrewed flight but was unable to reach the altitude needed to dock with the ISS. After a major review of the spacecraft by NASA, the test was due to be reattempted in August 2021, but issues with the capsule’s propulsion system meant it was delayed a second time. www.boeing.com/space/starliner