Boeing launches first NASA astronauts after years of delays

Boeing carried astronauts for the first time on June 5, joining SpaceX as the second taxi service for NASA.

Two NASA test pilots blasted off to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule, becoming the first people to fly the new spacecraft.

The trip for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams was expected to take 25 hours, and they would arrive there on Thursday. They would spend about a week aboard the orbiting lab before climbing back aboard the Starliner for a remote desert landing in the western US on June 14.

“Let’s go!” Wilmore called out a few minutes before takeoff.

Half an hour later, he and Williams safely reached orbit and began chasing the space station. Back at Cape Canaveral, relieved launch controllers stood up and applauded. After all the trouble before Wednesday’s launch, including two canceled countdowns, everything went smoothly before and during the launch, leading to congratulations from SpaceX’s Elon Musk and others.

“Everything came together today,” said Boeing program manager Mark Nappi.

Delayed by several years because of flaws in the spacecraft, Starliner’s crewed debut comes at a time when the company is grappling with unrelated safety issues involving its aircraft.

Wilmore and Williams — retired Navy captains and former space station residents — repeatedly stressed before the launch that they had full confidence in Boeing’s ability to perform this test flight correctly. Because of faulty software, an initial test flight of the uncrewed Starliner in 2019 had to be repeated before NASA could let its astronauts in. A second flight in 2022 went much better, but parachute problems were later reported and flammable tape had to be removed from the capsule.

Wednesday’s launch was the third attempt with astronauts since early May, following two rocket-related problems, most recently last weekend. A small helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system also caused a delay, but it was minor and manageable.

“Flight is a difficult endeavor and congratulations to the entire team for getting there,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager.

Boeing was hired a decade ago along with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to ferry NASA astronauts to the space station. The space agency wanted two competing US companies for the job after the space shuttle was retired, paying $4.2 billion to Boeing and a little more than half that to SpaceX, which redesigned the capsule used to deliver supplies to the station.

SpaceX sent astronauts to orbit in 2020, becoming the first private business to achieve what only three countries — Russia, the U.S. and China — have ever done. It has flown nine crews to the space station for NASA and also sent three private groups for a Houston company that operates charter flights.

The launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was the 100th Atlas V launch for rocket manufacturer United Launch Alliance. It was the first flight of astronauts on an Atlas rocket since John Glenn’s Mercury era more than 60 years ago; the rocket typically launches satellites and other spacecraft.

Despite the Atlas V’s excellent record, the human presence increased tensions for NASA and Boeing personnel gathered at Cape Canaveral and Mission Control in Houston.

Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon are designed to be fully autonomous and reusable. Wilmore and Williams occasionally take manual control of the Starliner during visits to the space station, to check its systems. The only problem early in the flight concerned the capsule’s cooling system. More water than expected was used before the radiators took over in orbit. The tanks will be refilled before heading back home.

If the mission is successful, NASA will alternate between SpaceX and Boeing for taxi flights starting next year. Mike Finke, the backup pilot for this test flight, will be ready for Starliner’s next trip.

“It’s exciting. We’ve been preparing for this moment for years, and it’s finally happened,” Fincke said from the neighboring Kennedy Space Center. “I feel like the whole planet was cheering for them.”