Boeing successfully launches Starliner rocket for NASA in 2nd attempt after 2019 mishap

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V-rocket rolled lifted off with Boeing’s Starliner capsule to International Station (ISS) on Thursday. engines of an Atlas 5 rocket roared from a launching pad at Cape Canaveral Force Station in Florida at 6:54 pm Eastern time taking Starliner to orbit. Thirty-two minutes after liftoff, rocket safely entered orbit and is set to reach its destination after almost a day-long journey.

liftoff of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V-rocket rolled lifted off with Boeing’s Starliner capsule to ISS is significant as it is Boeing’s make or break chance. tably, this mission named Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Boeing's second launch attempt to station after first one ended in a failure in 2019.  craft, which was built for NASA to take astronauts to and from International Station, is w being tested without astronauts to show that its systems are safe to use.

Starliner reaches orbit with Rosie Rocketeer

It is pertinent to te that aero company’s previous two attempts to undertake that preparatory journey were faced by serious technical problems. first test flight in December 2019 and second in August 2021 ended in failure costing hundreds of millions of dollars for company. tably, Boeing is in direct contention with Elon Musk's founded X, newer company that has already carried five NASA crews to orbit since Boeing’s first test flight.

If Boeing flight travels to USS and back safely, it will provide NASA with sufficient data to certify wher craft can safely carry people into . Although current mission does t carry any astronauts, Starliner does have a mannequin named Rosie Rocketeer seated inside. Both Boeing and NASA officials, in ir updates, have confirmed that flight have gone well so far.

OFT-2 will test Starliner's end-to-end capabilities

NASA had earlier said that mission would test Starliner capsule and Atlas rocket's end-to-end capabilities from launch to docking to a return to Earth and landing in desert. This launch was conducted under NASA's Commercial Crew Program wherein ncy is looking for private launch providers to transport astronauts and supplies to and from station. Boeing is eyeing a license from NASA, which it would acquire only after proving its readiness for manned flight missions. 

In 2019, company had launched a craft to ISS but it failed to dock. Boeing, along with X, was awarded a contract by NASA for procurement of launch vehicles but mission failure stalled company's acquisition of a NASA license. new 172-foot-tall Atlas rocket launched Starliner at a speed of 28,123 kilometres per hour. company even shared rocket being launched from Cape Canaveral Force Station in Florida on social media.

Im: TWITTER