A five-year wait, full of technical challenges, postponements and twists. Finally, Boeing has broken the deadlock: the capsule Starliner leaves the Cape Canaveral launch pad, pushed into orbit by the powerful Atlas V rocket. On board, two veteran NASA astronauts, Barry Wilmore e Sunita Williams, ready to write a new page in the history of space flights. It's the baptism of fire for Starliner: his first mission with crew after two test flights without people on board. A crucial test to demonstrate that Boeing is ready to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, alongside SpaceX in this new era of collaboration between NASA and private companies.
An odyssey to the stars
Starliner's path towards this historic milestone has not been without obstacles, as you well know. The first test flight, in 2019, ended in partial failure: the capsule failed to dock with the ISS due to hardware and software problems. It took two and a half years of hard work to resolve the problems and get back on the launch pad. The second attempt, in 2022, had more success, with Starliner which managed to dock with the space station. But the road to manned flight was still long.
Wilmore and Williams, both former Navy test pilots, have been waiting for this moment for years. Having entered quarantine on April 22, they saw two launch opportunities in May disappear due to last-minute technical issues. But yesterday, June 5th, everything was ready. Awaking before dawn, the two astronauts meticulously prepared, donning their spacesuits and boarding Starliner. A few moments before takeoff, Wilmore exclaimed:
Let's put some fire in this rocket and push it skyward, where all these tenacious Americans have prepared it to go.
Starliner, a crucial flight for the future
The success of this mission would open a new chapter for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Have two space transportation service providers, Boeing e SpaceX, would ensure more reliable access to the International Space Station. As the NASA Associate Administrator pointed out Jim Free:
We need this access. Having a second provider means that if we have a problem with one, we still have a way to get our crews onto the station and bring them back.
A capsule called Calypso
Once docked with the ISS, Starliner will remain docked for about eight days before returning Wilmore and Williams to Earth, landing in the desert of the southwestern United States. Williams, who was given the honor of christening the capsule, named it Calypso, in homage to the famous ship of the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau (his son will be happy). A name that evokes adventure, exploration and discovery. This flight also marks a return to the origins: it is the first time since 1968, with the Apollo 7 mission, that a crew leaves from the historic Cape Canaveral launch pad. And he also scores a first timeAbsolute: Starliner will be the first American capsule to land on land.
But above all, this mission represents a step forward towards a future in which space flights will be increasingly frequent and accessible. A future in which collaboration between NASA and private companies will open new opportunities for exploration and discovery. With SpaceX's Starliner and Crew Dragon, humanity now has two reliable “taxis” for reach the stars. And who knows what other horizons await us beyond Earth's orbit. The space adventure has just begun.
