Boeing’s Starliner capsule has been launched on the first manned spaceflight after several delays

Boeing’s new Starliner space capsule lifted off Wednesday from Florida on an initial test flight with a crew, after several delays caused by last-minute technical problems.

The CST-100 Starliner, carrying two astronauts, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, strapped into an Atlas V rocket supplied and flown by the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA).

The seven-person Starliner inaugural crew includes two veteran NASA astronauts – Barry “Butch” Wilmore, a retired US Navy captain and fighter pilot, and Sunita “Sonny” Williams, a former Navy helicopter test pilot with more than 30 years of flight experience. Different plane.

Here’s a look at key events in Starliner space travel in recent years:

September 4, 2015 – Boeing brings down the curtain on an assembly plant for its first line of commercial spacecraft, which NASA plans to use to transport crews to the International Space Station.

November 4, 2019 – Boeing says one of three parachutes failed to open during a critical unmanned test of the Starliner.

December 20, 2019 – Boeing successfully launched its new astronaut capsule on the first unmanned flight to the International Space Station.

December 22, 2019 – The spacecraft makes a “Bullseye” landing in the New Mexico desert.

January 7, 2020 – NASA and Boeing are investigating a software glitch that prevented an unmanned capsule from reaching the International Space Station during a December 2019 flight.

February 6, 2020 – A NASA review panel said Boeing narrowly missed a “catastrophic error” during its December test flight.

August 25, 2020 – The first crewed Starliner mission is tentatively scheduled for 2021, with Boeing aiming to complete software production development and hardware testing.

October 7, 2020 – Chris Ferguson, the lead astronaut for the Starliner crewed flight to the International Space Station, is stepping down due to family priorities. He was replaced by Willmore.

July 29, 2021 – An accident on the space station causes NASA to postpone the launch of the Starliner.

August 3, 2021 – Boeing postpones Starliner launch after new disruption.

August 13, 2021 – Boeing returns the spacecraft to the factory to fix a valve issue, pushing back the launch date until at least mid-October, if not later.

May 19, 2022 – The Starliner capsule launches an unmanned test flight to the International Space Station.

May 20, 2022 – The Starliner capsule, without astronauts, docks with the International Space Station for the first time.

August 25, 2022 – Boeing announced that it is targeting the first Starliner mission with astronauts on board for early 2023.

June 1, 2023 – Boeing said it has halted preparations for the first crewed Starliner test flight into space, scheduled for July 2023, after two serious safety issues were discovered with the spacecraft.

May 3, 2024 – Boeing is scheduled to send the first Starliner space capsule with a human crew into space next week, after a year-long delay.

May 6, 2024 – The first crewed test flight of the new Starliner space capsule is postponed after a countdown to a scheduled May 6 launch was halted due to a fault with the Atlas V rocket.

May 7, 2024 – NASA says

New target launch date

The earliest date for the mission is set for May 17.

May 14, 2024 – Boeing says Starliner mission

It has been postponed again

– until at least May 21 – due to a problem with the spaceship’s propulsion system.

May 17, 2024 – NASA and Boeing

to have

The launch of the Starliner crew capsule was rescheduled to check for a helium leak, targeting May 25.

May 21, 2024 – NASA

Postpone again

The crew’s first flight spends more time assessing a helium leak in the spaceship’s propulsion system.

May 22, 2024 – NASA and Boeing

Target is June 1

Before launch.

June 1, 2024 – A

Try again

The launch of the Starliner with astronauts on board was automatically halted several minutes before launch by a computer abort system.

June 2, 2024 – Boeing and NASA target June 5 for launch.

June 5, 2024 – The Starliner astronaut capsule is successfully launched

Launched

From Florida with two astronauts on board, and is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on June 6. (Reporting by Nathan Gomes, Shivansh Tiwari, Kannaki Deka and Nilotpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Gerry Doyle and Maju Samuel)