Boeing carries out 1st manned launch of Starliner spacecraft to ISS
The American Boeing Company has carried out the first manned launch of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), according to the website of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), TASS reports.
The launch took place at 10:52 a.m. local time (2:52 p.m. GMT) from the spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are on board the Starliner spacecraft. The flight to the orbital station is expected to take just over a day.
The launch was originally scheduled for May 6, but was delayed to June 1 due to problems with ULA's Atlas V rocket valve. That attempt also failed due to ground equipment malfunctions.
After docking with the ISS, the astronauts will remain at the orbital station for eight days. The Starliner will then make a soft landing at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The primary mission of the flight is to test the spacecraft’s ability to deliver crews to the space station and return them to Earth.
