Boeing Craft Docks With International Space Station

Reuters reports:

Boeing’s new Starliner capsule and its inaugural two-member NASA crew safely docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, meeting a key test in proving the vessel’s flight-worthiness and sharpening Boeing’s competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The rendezvous was achieved despite an earlier loss of several guidance-control jet thrusters, some of them due to a helium propulsion leak, which NASA and Boeing said should not compromise the mission.

The CST-100 Starliner, with veteran astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams aboard, arrived at the orbiting platform after a flight of roughly 26 hours following its launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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At this writing, the crew is awaiting the go-ahead to open the hatch into the station. Live video below.

Hear aerospace engineer Jim May describe what is visible in this view of #Starliner that is vital for docking operations. pic.twitter.com/lFCOJVtSZ2

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 6, 2024

#Starliner’s innovative navigation and docking system called the Vision-based, Electro-Optical Sensor Tracking Assembly, or VESTA, acts as the “eyes” of the spacecraft on orbit, determining the location and orientation of the vehicle relative to the stars around it. pic.twitter.com/qrfwIv63Cv

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 6, 2024

STARLINER DOCKS TO ISS
At 1:34pm ET, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. NASA Astronauts Butch Wilmore & Suni Williams will join Expedition 71 aboard the Space Station for a ~10 day stay. pic.twitter.com/kL4vXJ9TIZ

— Talk of Titusville 🌴🚀 (@TalkOTitusville) June 6, 2024