Boeing’s Starliner capsule launches on first manned spaceflight after multiple delays
Boeing’s new Starliner astronaut capsule launched from Florida on Wednesday on its first test flight with a crew on board after being delayed several times by last-minute technical problems.
The CST-100 Starliner, with two astronauts on board, took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, strapped to an Atlas V rocket equipped and flown by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture.
The inaugural crew of the seven-seat Starliner includes two veteran NASA astronauts — Barry “Butch” Wilmore, a retired U.S. Navy captain and fighter pilot, and Sunita “Suni” Williams, a former Navy helicopter test pilot with experience flying more than 30 different aircraft.
Here are some highlights from Starliner’s space travel over the years:
September 4, 2015 – Boeing breaks ground on an assembly plant for its first line of commercial spaceships, which NASA plans to use to send crews to the ISS.
November 4, 2019 – Boeing says one of three parachutes failed to deploy during a crucial unmanned test of the Starliner.
December 20, 2019 – Boeing successfully launches its new astronaut capsule on its first unmanned trip to the ISS.
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 the unmanned capsule from reaching the ISS on a December 2019 flight.
February 6, 2020 – A NASA review committee says Boeing narrowly avoided a “catastrophic failure” during its December flight test.
August 25, 2020 – The first Starliner crew mission is likely scheduled for 2021, with Boeing aiming to complete software and test hardware production development.
October 7, 2020 – Chris Ferguson, the chief astronaut for Starliner’s crew flight to the ISS, resigned from the job, citing family priorities. Wilmore was appointed in his place.
July 29, 2021 – NASA has to postpone the launch of Starliner due to an accident on the space station.
August 3, 2021 – Boeing postpones Starliner launch after new glitch.
August 13, 2021 – Boeing sends the spacecraft back to the factory to fix a valve issue, pushing back the launch date until at least mid-October.
May 19, 2022 – The Starliner capsule launches on an unmanned test flight to the ISS.
May 20, 2022 – The Starliner capsule, without astronauts, docks with the ISS for the first time.
August 25, 2022 – Boeing announces it is targeting a 2023 launch for the first Starliner mission carrying astronauts.
June 1, 2023 – Boeing said it has rolled back late preparations for its first manned Starliner test flight into space, planned for July 2023, after it found two safety-critical issues with the spacecraft.
May 3, 2024 – Boeing is set to send the first Starliner space capsule with a human crew into orbit next week after a year of delays.
May 6, 2024 – The first manned test flight of the new Starliner space capsule is postponed after the countdown to the scheduled May 6 launch was halted due to a malfunction with the Atlas V rocket.
May 7, 2024 – NASA says the new targeted launch date for the mission has been set for May 17.
May 14, 2024 – Boeing says the Starliner mission has been delayed again — until at least May 21 — because of a problem with the spacecraft’s propulsion system.
May 17, 2024 – NASA and Boeing again postpone the launch of the Starliner crew capsule to investigate a helium leak, now delayed to May 25.
May 21, 2024 – NASA again delays the first crewed flight to spend more time evaluating a helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system.
May 22, 2024 – NASA and Boeing target June 1 for launch.
June 1, 2024 – A second attempt to launch Starliner with astronauts aboard is automatically aborted by a computer-abort system just minutes before launch.
June 2, 2024 – Boeing and NASA target June 5 for launch.
June 5, 2024 – The Starliner astronaut capsule successfully launches from Florida with two astronauts on board, with docking with the ISS scheduled for June 6.
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